The Madras high court has stayed the publication of the results of the examination held on July 7, 2012, to the Group IV posts conducted by the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission.
Justice S. Nagamuthu also ordered notice to the TNPSC on petitions from M. Chinnasamy and Murugan, which also sought a direction to the TNPSC to conduct a fresh examination to the Group IV posts with proper question paper to the candidates.
Chinnasamy said that TNPSC had issued a notification dated April 27, 2012, calling for applications to the posts included in Group IV services by direct recruitment against the 10,718 vacancies in various department in the state for the years 2007-08 to 2012-13. He applied and appeared for the Group IV competitive examination held on July 7.
However, he was shocked to find that in his question paper serial number 1 to 59 and 154 to 200 were printed but the remaining questions were not and instead questions 1 to 59 were reprinted.
Chinnasamy said that he had brought this to the knowledge of the supervisor of the examination hall who did not do anything to resolve the situation and said he was only supervising the examination.
There were 200 questions but the question paper supplied to him contained only 105 questions as 95 questions were not printed. Therefore, he was unable to answer those 95 questions in the OMR sheet.
Later he had brought this to the knowledge of TNPSC but had got no response. He had sent representations to TNPSC to conduct fresh examination but again got no reply.
As he was given an improper question paper, he was deprived of his right of getting employment in a government organisation. Thus, the examination held on July 7 was liable to be set aside, Chinnasamy said.
Probe to rule out ‘irregularities’
Following the group-II paper leak racket, questions have popped as to whether there were irregularities in the previous examinations conducted by Tamil Nadu public service commission (TNPSC) as well. In order to lay all doubts at rest, TNPSC has agreed to conduct a detailed investigation and make sure no one has cheated his/her way through to getting government posts.
TNPSC recently cancelled its group-II examination following reports that the question paper was leaked a few days prior to the examination. Investigations revealed that a huge network, that included former TNPSC staff and coaching centre-owners, was involved in the racket. Question papers were allegedly sold for `3lakh to `5 lakh by touts who wanted to make a fast buck.
Lakhs of candidates who worked hard to prepare for the group-II examination were highly disappointed and shocked at the turn of events. The commission also expressed shock over the racket and is busy making arrangements for the re-examination.
Doubts have cropped up regarding the other examinations conducted by the commission, and there is suspicion that the question papers were leaked during those exams as well. “We have tried to ensure maximum transparency. Proper investigations would be conducted to allay such fears and we want to make sure that government jobs do not fall into the hands of people who do not deserve them,” said a senior official of the commission.