Hyderabad: In a significant ruling affecting the long-pending Group-II recruitment process, the Telangana High Court Single Bench comprising Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka on Tuesday set aside the re-evaluation and final selection list issued by the Telangana Public Service Commission (TGPSC), after finding that OMR answer sheets containing 150 questions had been tampered with.

The court held that the Commission had evaluated OMR sheets that showed use of whiteners, erasers, or other tampering, despite clear directions earlier issued by a Division Bench, which had instructed the TGPSC to strictly follow recommendations of the Technical Committee and not evaluate tampered answer sheets.

Justice Bheemapaka directed the TGPSC to re-evaluate and finalise the selection list in strict adherence to the Committee's guidelines.

The Commission has also been ordered to issue appointment orders to eligible candidates within eight weeks and to ensure that OMR evaluation in all future recruitments strictly follows existing rules.

The order was delivered while hearing a batch of petitions filed by P Prasanna Latha and nine others, and Bokku Sujatha and 14 others, who argued that the Commission had wrongly evaluated OMR sheets that were “admittedly tampered,” resulting in an unlawful and unfair selection list.

The ruling is expected to impact hundreds of candidates awaiting final appointments to Group-II posts notified on December 30, 2015, bringing a renewed focus on transparency and procedural integrity in the State’s recruitment processes.