CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has directed the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) to pay a compensation of Rs 1 lakh as compensation to a candidate who could not clear the Odisha Judicial Service (OJS) Examination-2022 owing to answer script evaluation lapse.
The High Court ordered OPSC to pay Rs 1 lakh to Jyotirmayee Dutta considering the mental trauma and financial burden she endured for an evaluation lapse in one of her answer-scripts. Dutta had appeared for the OJS Main Exam in September, 2023, but when the results were declared on December 4 the same year, she failed to qualify for the next stage—document verification and interview—by a margin of five marks.
She later came to know that a question in the Law of Property paper had been left unevaluated and the marks awarded in other questions were below expectation. Dutta then approached the High Court seeking its intervention for re-evaluation of her answer sheet of the the Law of Property paper. The court directed an independent assessment of Dutta's answer script by experts from three reputed universities of the state. The review confirmed that one of her answers had been overlooked, and marks were subsequently awarded.
However, the additional marks were insufficient for her to qualify for the next stage. A division bench comprising Justices Sangam Kumar Sahoo and Chittaranjan Dash dismissed her petition but acknowledged the distress caused by the error. The court stated, “Considering the mental trauma and financial burden endured by the petitioner in pursuing this case, we deem it appropriate to award Rs.1 lakh as compensation.” The amount shall be paid by the OPSC within 60 days from the judgment, which was delivered on Monday. The bench emphasized that competitive exams shape careers and involve years of rigorous preparation, financial investments and personal sacrifices. The court further underscored the need for "the highest level of scrutiny and quality control measures" in evaluation processes to prevent such lapses in the future.
