In a ruling that could affect the recruitment of more than 1,700 post-graduate teachers in Computer Science in Haryana, the Punjab and Haryana High Court Tuesday asked the state’s Staff Selection Commission to get detailed explanations from experts about questions in a recent exam. The decision came after six unsuccessful candidates argued that parts of the test were unfair, and were not based on the given topics. The case stems from ads issued by the Haryana Staff Selection Commission in June 2023, inviting applications for 1,633 teacher posts in most parts of the state, and 78 in the Mewat area. Over 5,000 people, including the six who filed the petition, took the subject knowledge test on June 15, 2025. The petitioners, led by Tejpal, said questions numbered 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, and 15 were “out of syllabus, which caused them serious prejudice.” They also pointed out that their test had only 15 mandatory questions, while tests for other subjects like Sociology, Physics, and Math had 18 questions, allowing candidates to choose 15. Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya, in his order, rejected the claim of unfair treatment in the exam pattern. Justice Dahiya noted that all Computer Science candidates faced the same setup, so there was no bias. “There is uniformity in the examination pattern within the class of candidates who applied for the posts of PGT Computer Science,” the judge wrote, adding that candidates for other subjects “belong to different class(es),” making the comparison invalid. However, the court agreed with the petitioners on one key point: the experts who reviewed the complaints did not fully explain their conclusions. The Commission consulted professors in Computer Science, who said only one question (number 14) was outside the syllabus and recommended dropping it. But their report lacked reasons for most decisions. “It remains unfathomable as to why the experts would give justification only for two of their recommendations, leaving the rest sans any,” the order stated. The judge emphasised that reasons are needed because “it not only enhances the worth of the advice but also helps the authorities concerned, including the Courts, to take a view on that while examining their report.” The court rejected the petitioners’ request for extra marks for the dropped question, finding the Commission’s decision to evaluate the remaining 14 questions (out of 150 total, now 140) was fair and in accordance with the rules. “The candidates have no vested right to claim grace marks for the questions found wrong or out of syllabus,” it said. The petition was disposed of with clear steps for the Haryana Staff Selection Commission: send the report back to the same experts for justifications on every point, decide if the test results need changes based on the updated report, and hold off on final selections until that’s done. If any candidate qualifies under a revised list, they must be considered.
