Hyderabad, Sep 14 (NationPress) The struggles of unemployed youth striving for Group-1 government positions in Telangana seem unending, as the distribution of appointment letters to 563 chosen candidates faces yet another legal hurdle.

A ruling from a single-judge bench, which commands the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TGPSC) to nullify the results of the Group-1 Mains and manually reassess answer sheets, has placed the selected candidates in a precarious situation.

While TGPSC is set to file a review petition against this ruling, the emergence of a new legal battle intensifies the worries for those awaiting their appointment letters.

The candidates, who emerged from a pool of 21,000 who took the Mains exam, are anxious about potentially losing their positions in the re-evaluation process.

When the results were released in March, the selected candidates felt elated that their years of dedication were finally recognized.

One candidate, wishing to remain anonymous, expressed, "I completed the certificate and medical verification processes and was eagerly anticipating the appointment letter, but now I fear that the six years I invested in exam preparation might be in vain."

The selected candidates believe that a new ranking list post-re-evaluation could resolve the ongoing litigation.

Having worked hard and made significant sacrifices to achieve their rank, they fear that a negative outcome from the re-evaluation could signify the end of their aspirations.

"We were chosen through a legitimate process, and now the annulment of results and re-evaluation feels like a significant setback for us," shared another candidate.

On September 9, the High Court instructed TGPSC to reassess the answer sheets from the Group-I Main examination.

Justice Namavarapu Rajeshwar Rao's verdict came in response to a series of writ petitions contesting the evaluation method. The court cautioned that it would consider canceling the Group-I exam and demanding a re-examination if compliance with its orders was not observed.

The petitioners cited numerous irregularities in the selection process, noting that around 71 individuals were selected from just two centers in Hyderabad. They raised concerns about the recounting method, referencing a candidate whose score dropped from 485 to 422 after requesting a recount.

TGPSC's counsel, P. S. Rajasekhar, countered that the allegations were unfounded, asserting that 19 of the 20 petitioners were government employees aiming to delay the recruitment.

In the preliminary examination held on June 9, 2024, approximately 500,000 aspirants participated. The results, announced on July 7, led to 21,000 candidates qualifying for the Mains, conducted from October 21 to 27, with results declared on March 10, 2025.

The general ranking list was published on March 30 after the recounting process.

Following complaints regarding irregularities, the High Court instructed TGPSC in April to withhold appointment letters until the adjudication of petitions challenging the selection process.

The Group-I exam has been embroiled in controversies even before the current legal issues arose.

The original notification for the exam was issued in 2022, attracting nearly 286,000 candidates for the preliminaries on October 16, 2022. This marked the first Group-1 exam conducted post the formation of Telangana State in 2014.

However, the TGPSC annulled the exam in March 2023 due to a question paper leak scandal that implicated some commission employees.

The commission then re-conducted the Group-1 Prelims on June 11, 2023, with over 232,000 candidates participating.

Yet, in September, the High Court canceled this exam as well, following petitions alleging severe violations during the examination process. Complaints included the non-implementation of biometric attendance and OMR sheets lacking hall ticket numbers and candidate photographs.

These repeated cancellations triggered widespread protests among government job seekers. The leading opposition parties, the Congress and BJP, supported the demonstrations, accusing the then Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government of failing to conduct a transparent recruitment process.

This issue also became a focal point in the Assembly elections held in November 2023, with the Congress party pledging to reform TGPSC and ensure thorough and transparent recruitment.

During the election campaign, Rahul Gandhi engaged with job aspirants, promising two hundred thousand government positions. The Congress's manifesto included a job calendar.

However, this latest incident has provided the BRS and BJP with the ammunition to criticize the Congress government.

The BRS has backed the Group-I candidates alleging irregularities and is calling for a re-examination.

The opposition is also demanding a judicial inquiry into claims that bribes were accepted from Group-I candidates by ministers and officials.

BRS Working President K.T. Rama Rao accused the government of betraying unemployed youth by commodifying Group-I positions.

"The government auctioned jobs in the public domain, shattering the hopes of many aspirants who dedicated years to preparing for competitive exams, investing their time and their parents' hard-earned money," stated Rama Rao.

He called for the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the extensive malpractice and identify those who "sold government jobs."

KTR also urged a special Assembly session to deliberate on the Group-I scandal and hold the Congress government accountable. He emphasized that only a comprehensive judicial inquiry and a transparent re-exam could deliver justice to the unemployed youth and prevent future scandals.

Telangana State BJP President N. Ramchandra Rao labeled the High Court's ruling a "slap in the face" to the Congress government.

"It validates the BJP's long-held position regarding the irregularities and mismanagement in the Group-I recruitment process. From the notification release to the flawed evaluation process, the Telangana Public Service Commission has faltered at every level. The government's incompetence is jeopardizing the futures of thousands of candidates," he remarked.

Conversely, Congress MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy criticized the opposition, suggesting they were reveling in the court's decision.

He alleged that the sole goal of the BRS is to obstruct the Group-I exam at any cost, due to their failure to conduct it during their decade-long rule.

"Was it not under BRS governance that the Group-I papers ended up in photocopying centers?" he questioned.