Published Mar 18, 2026 | 1:43 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 18, 2026 | 1:43 PM
Andhra Pradesh High Court. (Supplied)
Synopsis: While questions are being raised over the CID investigation into the alleged irregularities in the conduct of Group 1 service examinations in Andhra Pradesh, the state high court expressed displeasure over the same issue. The court is unhappy over the inordinate delay in the CID submitting a report on whether there was any tampering of answer sheets. While the CID officials said the forensic examinations could take six more months, the court asked them to expedite the process and posted the hearing to the end of March for further hearing.
Serious questions are being raised over the manner in which the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of the Andhra Pradesh police is going about the investigation into the alleged irregularities in the conduct of Group 1 service examinations. Moreover, the High Court of Andhra Pradesh is not amused by this.
Police officers representing the CID got an earful from a high court bench on Tuesday, 17 March, when the matter came up for hearing.
The bench, comprising Justices Battu Devanand and A Hari Haranadha Sarma, was unhappy over the inordinate delay in the CID submitting a report on whether there was any tampering of answer sheets.
At one stage, a senior police officer who appeared online before the bench submitted that it could take six months for the agency to conduct a forensic examination of the answer sheets to find out if there was any tampering. The court did not agree with the submission and posted the matter to the end of this month for further hearing.
The issue pertains to the conduct of Group 1 examinations for which notification was originally issued in 2018 to fill 170 vacancies. The test, for which over 9,000 candidates applied, was conducted during the Covid period in 2020.
Given the situation that prevailed during Covid, the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) preferred digital valuation and announced a list of 326 candidates selected for interview.
This was Step 1. A single judge of the high court later struck it down on the ground that “digital evaluation” was not mentioned in the notification.
In Step 2, the APPSC went for a physical evaluation as suggested by the high court, but abandoned the process midway.
Step 3 followed. Another round of evaluation followed in Vijayawada, and a final list of selected candidates was published and appointments given accordingly in the latter part of 2024.
The unsuccessful candidates approached the HC alleging irregularities and approached the high court.
An expert pointed out that a simple and yet foolproof test the CID could do is:
a) For the 628 candidates under scrutiny, separate the PDFs (created for the purpose of digital evaluation) and physical answer sheets of the same.
b) Send the PDFs and physical answer sheets of 628 candidates to the forensic lab situated outside the state (as mandated by the high court) to check if they were tampered with.
c) Get the timeline from the lab for the result and report it to the high court.
This would, according to the expert, conclusively establish if the answer sheets remained the same or were tampered with.
In fact, during the course of the hearing on Tuesday, an exasperated bench wondered if the police understood the framework of the inquiry ordered by it and asked if it required further explanation.
At whose cost and with what purpose is the investigation being dragged is the question that begs an answer. By way of an interim order, the high court bench wanted those selected as Group 1 officers to be given “non-focal posts” so that they cannot influence the investigation.
What the government, instead, did was attach them to the office of the Director General of Police (DGP) or the General Administration Department (GAD) of the Secretariat. “At whose cost are you paying them salaries without taking any work?” the bench asked.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
