UPSC to Release Provisional Answer Key After Prelims: Supreme Court Case, New Guidelines

UPSC will now release the provisional answer key soon after the Civil Services Prelims. Learn about the Supreme Court case, new UPSC guidelines, objections process, expert evaluation, final answer key release, and impact on candidates.

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In a landmark decision that marks a new era of transparency, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has agreed to release the provisional answer key soon after the Civil Services Preliminary Examination. This change comes after decades of following the controversial practice of releasing answer keys, cut-offs, and marks only after the entire examination process, including interviews and final results.

The development is directly linked to a case in the Supreme Court of India, where candidates challenged the delayed publication of UPSC answer keys and cut-off marks. The Commission has now informed the top court that it will publish the UPSC provisional answer key, invite objections, and review them with subject experts before finalizing the results of the Preliminary Exam.

This decision is expected to impact lakhs of aspirants preparing for UPSC Prelims 2025, UPSC Civil Services Exam (CSE), IAS, IPS, and other central services.

Background: Why Was the Supreme Court Involved?

The issue reached the Supreme Court after a petition was filed through advocates Saroj Tripathi and Rajeev Dubey, challenging UPSC’s long-standing policy of delaying answer keys and cut-off marks.

The petition argued that:

The UPSC answer key should not be published only after the final results.
Candidates who do not clear the Prelims deserve timely access to marks and solutions.
The delay prevents aspirants from seeking judicial or procedural remedies.
Transparency is a constitutional obligation for an examination body like UPSC.

The Supreme Court appointed Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta as amicus curiae, assisted by Advocate Pranjal Kishore. The amicus suggested that UPSC should release the provisional answer key a day after the Prelims exam.

Initially, in its May 13 affidavit, UPSC called the suggestion “counter-productive” and warned it could cause “uncertainty and delay in finalisation of the exam.” However, in a fresh affidavit filed on September 20, UPSC reversed its stand and agreed to adopt new modalities.

UPSC Exam Pattern 2025

UPSC’s New Decision: What Will Change?

According to the September 20 affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court, UPSC has made a “conscious and well-considered decision” to adopt reforms. The new system includes the following key features:

1. Provisional Answer Key Soon After Prelims

UPSC will publish the provisional answer key immediately after the Prelims examination is conducted. This timing is a major shift from releasing it after the final results.

2. Objection Window for Candidates

Only candidates who appeared for the exam will be allowed to raise objections.

Rules for objections:

Each objection must be backed by three authoritative sources.
Unsupported objections will be rejected at the threshold.
UPSC will decide whether the submitted sources are valid.

3. Expert Review Process

The Commission will present:

The provisional answer key,
Candidate objections,
Questions and representations
…to a team of subject experts for final scrutiny.

They will analyze:

Accuracy of answers
Validity of references
Ambiguities in questions
Alternative interpretations

The vetted and corrected answer key will determine Prelims results.

4. Final Answer Key After Final Result

UPSC will publish the final answer key after declaring the final results, retaining part of its old approach for the final stage.

5. Implementation “As Soon As Possible”

UPSC has confirmed it plans to implement the new answer key release policy expeditiously, likely starting from UPSC CSE Prelims 2025.

UPSC Prelims Syllabus 2025

Impact on UPSC Aspirants and Exam Transparency

This decision is expected to influence over 12 lakh aspirants appearing annually for UPSC Prelims.

Benefits for Candidates

Clarity about correct answers soon after the exam
Reduced speculation and confusion
Opportunity to challenge incorrect answers
Better preparation for next attempts
Early self-evaluation for Mains strategy

Increased Transparency

The Supreme Court and education experts have long pushed for reforms in public examinations. UPSC’s willingness to release the provisional answer key soon after the Prelims aligns with reforms already followed by: