In a landmark move, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has informed the Supreme Court of India that it will now publish provisional answer keys immediately after the Civil Services Preliminary Examination (CSE Prelims). This decision marks a significant policy shift aimed at enhancing transparency in one of the most prestigious and competitive examinations in India.
The announcement came in response to a writ petition challenging UPSC’s long-standing practice of releasing answer keys and cut-off marks only after the entire examination cycle is complete, which usually spans almost a year. The case is titled Himanshu Kumar and others v. Union of India and others | WP(c) No.118/2024, and is scheduled to be heard by a bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice AS Chandurkar on October 6, 2025.
Current Practice vs. New Change
Traditionally, UPSC publishes the final answer keys and cut-offs only after the declaration of final results of the Civil Services Examination. This meant that aspirants who failed to clear the prelims had to wait almost a year to know where they went wrong.
This lack of transparency has been a major grievance among aspirants, who argued that they were left “completely clueless” about their performance.
With the new decision, provisional answer keys will be published soon after the prelims. Candidates will then be allowed to raise objections or submit representations, provided they are supported by at least three authoritative sources.
A panel of subject experts will review these objections and finalize the corrected answer key, which will be used for result declaration. The final answer keys will still be published after the completion of the entire examination cycle, but candidates will now have a fair chance to contest errors at the prelims stage itself.
Why This Change is Important
The Civil Services Examination is often referred to as the toughest exam in India and one of the most challenging in the world. Conducted in three stages—Prelims, Mains, and Interview—the exam spans nearly 12 months from notification to final results.
Under the old system:
- Candidates had no idea about their marks immediately after prelims.
- The cut-off score was revealed only after final results, long after prelims had been conducted.
- Errors in answer keys often came to light only after it was too late for any redressal.
The petitioners pointed to the 2021 Prelims, where discrepancies were found once the keys were released. Several candidates who had given correct answers were wrongly marked as incorrect, while others advanced unfairly. By the time these errors surfaced, the selection process had already concluded.
Similarly, in the case of CSE (Prelims) 2022, the answer keys had not even been published by the time the petition was filed in 2024. Petitioners argued that this delayed disclosure was intentional, preventing objections and leaving aspirants with no legal recourse.
Thus, UPSC’s new commitment to publishing provisional keys immediately after prelims is being seen as a progressive step toward fairness and transparency.
Legal Journey of the Case
The writ petition filed in 2024 sought judicial intervention to mandate UPSC to publish:
- Marks of candidates,
- Cut-off marks for prelims, and
- Answer keys immediately after the prelims examination.
Initially, in an affidavit dated May 15, 2024, UPSC opposed the move, stating that early release of answer keys would be “counter-productive” and lead to uncertainty in finalizing the results.
However, following the Court’s intervention and the suggestion of amicus curiae Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta, UPSC revised its position in September 2025. It informed the Court that after “conscious and well-considered deliberation,” it had decided to implement the new system of provisional answer keys.
How the New System Will Work
- Step 1: Provisional Answer Key Release
Soon after the Prelims exam, UPSC will release provisional answer keys on its official website. - Step 2: Candidate Representations
Candidates can submit objections/representations to specific questions or answers. Each representation must be backed by three credible sources, ensuring only well-researched and genuine objections are considered. - Step 3: Expert Review Panel
An expert panel in the relevant subject will review all objections. They will have the authority to accept, reject, or modify the provisional answers. - Step 4: Finalization for Result Declaration
The revised and finalized answer key will serve as the basis for declaring the prelims results. - Step 5: Final Answer Key Publication
After the entire CSE cycle is complete and final results are declared, UPSC will publish the final answer keys for record and transparency.
Benefits for Aspirants
- Transparency in Evaluation – Candidates will know the correct answers shortly after prelims.
- Early Feedback – Helps aspirants analyze their performance and prepare better for next attempts.
- Fair Selection Process – Incorrect answers in the key can be challenged and corrected before results.
- Reduced Anxiety – Eliminates the year-long wait to understand where one went wrong.
- Greater Accountability – UPSC’s evaluation will now be subject to expert review and candidate input.
Expert Reactions
Many academicians and civil services coaching experts have welcomed the move. They believe it will make the process more candidate-friendly and align UPSC with practices followed by other competitive examinations such as SSC, CAT, CLAT, and state-level PSCs, which already publish provisional keys.
However, some experts also caution that UPSC must ensure the objection process is streamlined, as requiring three authoritative sources may be difficult for certain specialized questions, especially in subjects like History and Polity.
What This Means for Future UPSC Aspirants
For lakhs of UPSC aspirants, this is a game-changing reform. From 2025 onwards, candidates can expect:
- Quicker insights into their prelims performance.
- A chance to raise objections if they feel wrongly evaluated.
- A level playing field, with reduced chances of irregularities.
This move also reflects UPSC’s commitment to evolving its processes to meet the demands of transparency and accountability in a modern examination system.
Conclusion
The UPSC’s decision to publish provisional answer keys after prelims is a historic shift in the Civil Services Examination process. It directly addresses the long-standing grievances of aspirants regarding opacity and lack of redressal mechanisms.
By allowing candidates to contest answers before results are declared, UPSC is ensuring that only accurate evaluation forms the basis of selection. The Supreme Court’s oversight and the role of amicus curiae have been crucial in bringing about this change.
As the matter is set to be heard on October 6, 2025, the legal validation of this decision will further solidify its implementation. For now, lakhs of UPSC aspirants can look forward to a more transparent, accountable, and fair examination process—a step that could very well set a precedent for other competitive exams in India.
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