Amid concerns over examination integrity, including recent paper leak allegations and student protests in Delhi and Jharkhand, the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission's (APPSC) Group-I recruitment has come under scrutiny, with a Special Investigation Team (SIT) flagging several irregularities in the valuation process.
The Group 1 Mains examination was held from December 14 to 20, 2020, with 6,807 candidates appearing for all seven papers. The APPSC initially adopted digital valuation and declared the results on April 1, shortlisting 326 candidates.
The valuation process subsequently changed, with two rounds of manual evaluation conducted after the digital valuation was challenged. The SIT found that 202 of the 326 candidates shortlisted through digital valuation did not figure among the 325 candidates shortlisted after manual valuation, raising questions about the consistency of the evaluation process.
The controversy led to petitions before the High Court in 2022. On March 13, 2024, the high court held that the second and third valuations were illegal and irregular and ordered a fresh Group 1 Main examination.
On February 11, 2026, the high court directed the State to constitute or reconstitute an SIT to investigate the valuation irregularities. The Andhra Pradesh Government formally constituted the SIT on February 14, 2026.
The final SIT report has now been submitted to the high court, with findings that go beyond what could be described as merely administrative lapses.
The SIT examined 736 Group 1 Mains records and found alterations or overwriting in 718 of them, accounting for 97.55 per cent of the records examined. It also identified 159 signature mismatches, 29 alterations without examiner initials, and 114 corrections apparently made with different ink or at a different stage. White correction fluid was found on 169 valuation slips connected with the Haailand evaluation.
Among selected candidates, 160 of the 165 records examined had alterations, while 153 of the 161 records of unselected candidates also contained corrections. The SIT further found alterations in 405 of the 408 valuation slips belonging to writ petitioners.
The SIT also flagged shortcomings in the initial digital valuation, including the lack of mandatory approval from the chairman and discrepancies between evaluator records and the final database. Third-valuation referrals rose sharply from 0.45 per cent in the previous Group-1 recruitment to 10.2 per cent in the recruitment under investigation.
The investigation, however, did not establish that the original answer scripts of selected candidates had been substituted or tampered with.
The controversy has also taken a political turn. Although the notification was issued during the TDP government, the examination and the disputed valuation process took place under the YSRCP government.
TDP leaders have alleged the involvement of former DGP and APPSC chairman Gautam Sawang and secretary PSR Anjaneyulu, who also served as intelligence chief under then Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
With the SIT having submitted its report, the matter remains sub judice. The allegations against individuals remain allegations unless established through further investigation or proceedings before the high court.