PESHAWAR: Two separate petitions were filed in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) challenging the results of different examinations conducted by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Service Commission (KPPSC), with requests for re-evaluation of candidates’ answer sheets by independent experts and suspension of the process of final merit lists and appointments.
Malika Zafar of Shabqadar in Charsadda filed a petition against the KPPSC, chief secretary and other authorities, stating that she was a BSc gold medalist in psychology and secured excellent marks in other papers of the written examination but was awarded only 25 marks in English.
The petitioner said her objection was specifically related to the evaluation of the English paper and requested the court to direct the respondents to preserve the complete record of the paper and have her answer sheet re-evaluated by independent experts.
In a separate petition, Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA) president Aminur Rehman Yousafzai advocate also challenged the results of the Provincial Judicial Service examination.
The petition has named the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, secretary establishment, KPPSC, PHC registrar and other authorities as respondents.
According to the petition, 1,024 candidates appeared in the written examination for 105 posts of civil judges-cum-judicial magistrates/alaqa qazi, but only three candidates were declared successful. The petitioners argued that the very low number of successful candidates in three consecutive examinations raised serious questions about the examination system and the method of evaluation.
The petition pleaded that most of the candidates were lawyers and law graduates, but there was no effective, transparent and clearly defined procedure for evaluating their answer sheets. The petitioners contended that the result violated Articles 4, 9, 10-A, 14, 19-A and 25 of the Constitution and sought its annulment because it was unlawful, unfair and lacked transparency.
In both petitions, the court has been requested to summon the complete examination records and order an independent and impartial re-evaluation of the answer sheets by qualified experts. The petitioners have also sought an order restraining the KPPSC from conducting interviews or preparing final merit lists, recommendations and appointments until a final decision on the petitions.
The petitioners further requested that all relevant examination records be preserved and that transparent and clearly defined procedures be established for the evaluation of examination papers in the future.
