The Manipur High Court has issued notices to 125 successful candidates of the Manipur Civil Services Combined Competitive (MCSCC) exam 2016, which was reconducted in 2022.
This action follows a writ petition filed by Yumlembam Surjit Singh and five others, challenging the fairness and procedures of the exam.
A division bench of the High Court, comprising Chief Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Golmei Gaiphulshillu Kabui, has also directed both the Manipur Public Service Commission (MPSC) and the State of Manipur to respond to the allegations.
The petitioners, represented by Advocate Keisham Kishan Singh, initially approached the Supreme Court, seeking to nullify the reconducted 2016 exam due to alleged irregularities.
The Supreme Court then instructed them to file a fresh petition in the Manipur High Court, which was done in May 2023.
In their petition, the petitioners argue that the MPSC exam guidelines were flawed and unfit for selecting candidates for key administrative roles. They claim that the exam was conducted with incomplete procedures, lacking essential roles such as a head examiner, additional examiners, and question moderators. Additionally, they raised concerns about the evaluation process, highlighting issues like answer booklets missing supervisors’ signatures and improper question-setting protocols.
The specific issues raised in the petition include the absence of proper examiners and moderation procedures, the lack of question moderation and scaling methods, and the absence of standardized rules for evaluating answer booklets. The petitioners also noted a missing instruction to mark the end of each answer, which they believe could affect clarity during evaluation.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the High Court ordered that notices be served to the 125 successful candidates. The petitioners have also requested that the exam be conducted again with updated and effective guidelines.
