In what could be a landmark decision, the Punjab Information Commission on Thursday ruled that a candidate appearing in a competitive examination for employment in government service has the right to access evaluated answer scripts after declaration of results.
Ruling that an answer sheet is “information” within the meaning of Right to Information (RTI) Act and its disclosure is not prohibited under the transparency law.
The commission even said this right extends to accessing not only their own answer sheets but also those of other competing examinees.
Speaking for the five-member full bench of the commission, chief information commissioner Ramesh Inder Singh observed.
Post-declaration of the result, any disclosure will only lend transparency to the competition and thereby reaffirm faith in the fairness of the system, by placing the entire process in public domain.”
The commission was hearing an appeal by Surinder Kumar, an ex-servicemen, who had appeared in the competitive examination conducted for appointment to the post of inspector, excise and taxation, in Punjab government in November 2008, but was not selected. Dissatisfied with the result, he approached the public information officer. —IANS