UPSC student gets access to factual sheets

AHMEDABAD: A student who appeared for the Union Public Services Commission���s (UPSC) civil services examinations, has been allowed access to the marked factual summary sheets (FSS) prepared by UPSC before his personal interview. The Central Information Commission (CIC) dismissed UPSC's arguments as ���unacceptable��� and allowed access to an applicant seeking copies of summary sheets of his exams under Right to Information (RTI) Act.
The case pertains to city's Vinesh Singh Rore who appeared for UPSC civil services examinations in 1999 and 2000.Rore had sought certified copies of FSS submitted to civil services exam board under RTI. His application also asked other information about exams to get his grievances redressed. UPSC had submitted before CIC that summary sheet is filled as part of examination process and is technically a part of answersheet and cannot be made available for scrutiny by the examinee.
The argument was in line with an earlier decision of the CIC where it had denied disclosure of evaluated answer sheets stating that it would render the system of examinations unworkable. However, in this case CIC held that disclosure of the summary sheet is unlikely to have the same effect.
Before CIC, Rore appealed that while a blank copy of his summary sheet was provided to him, he was seeking a marked summary sheet of no third party but his own. On other hand, UPSC argued that disclosing the summary sheet would tantamount to disclosure of the answer sheet.
Chief information commissioner Wajahat Habibullah held UPSC���s arguments as ���unacceptable��� and ordered a copy of summary sheet concerning his interview to be supplied to Rore within 15 days.