A one-mark difference that could have ended a Gujarat Public Service Commission (GPSC) aspirant’s recruitment journey has now been overturned by the Gujarat High Court.
The court has directed GPSC to award one disputed mark to candidate Arti Rangpariya in a question related to Kautilya’s Arthashastra, after finding that her answer was supported by NCERT and GCERT textbooks. The disputed mark had caused her to fall short of the qualifying cut-off by just one mark.
The court also directed the commission to recalculate her score and provide all consequential benefits arising from the revised result.
Dispute Over One Question
The case relates to Question No. 147 in a GPSC examination conducted last year. Candidates were asked to judge two statements about Arthashastra:
That the book was written in Sanskrit.
That it was a book on economics.
Rangpariya marked both statements as correct.
GPSC, however, considered only the first statement correct. The commission argued that Arthashastra was not limited to economics and also dealt with areas such as politics and administration.
As a result, the candidate was denied one mark. That single mark proved crucial because she fell one mark short of the qualifying cut-off for the next stage of the recruitment process.
Court Questions Source Used by GPSC
During the hearing, the High Court repeatedly questioned GPSC about the material used to prepare the disputed question.
The commission relied on a PDF of a 1915 translation of Arthashastra that was available on a political party’s website.
However, the document had not been made available to the candidates. GPSC was also unable to produce the original edition before the court, despite being directed to provide a copy.
This became an important point in the court’s consideration of the case.
NCERT and GCERT Textbooks Supported Her Answer
Counsels for the petitioner, Megha Jani and Mit Thakkar, argued that Rangpariya’s answer was supported by textbooks prescribed by both the Gujarat Council of Educational Research and Training (GCERT) and the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). The court accepted this argument.
Justice Nirzar Desai held that the candidate’s answer should be considered correct because the authenticity of the material used for the question was not established, while the NCERT and GCERT textbooks supported the view that Arthashastra was also a book about economics.
GPSC Ordered to Restore the Mark
Allowing the petition, the High Court directed GPSC not to deduct the disputed mark from Rangpariya’s score.
The commission was ordered to recalculate her marks by treating her answer as correct.
The court also directed the authorities to provide all consequential benefits that arise from the revised score.
This means the candidate’s revised marks will have to be considered for the next steps in the recruitment process as directed by the court.
Government’s Request for Stay Rejected
The state government requested the High Court to keep the order on hold for four weeks. The court rejected that request.
During the proceedings, the government informed the court that one seat in the recruitment process had been kept vacant.
The decision therefore provides significant relief to the GPSC aspirant, whose eligibility for the next stage had been affected by a single disputed mark.
Also Read: Gujarat University Suspends 10 Officials Over Appointment Irregularities, Salary Row https://www.vibesofindia.com/gujarat-university-suspends-10-officials-over-appointment-irregularities/
