A political storm has erupted after the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) declared the Punjab State Civil Services Combined Competitive Examination-2025 (Mains) results on November 4, with aspirants alleging irregularities and the Opposition demanding an independent probe.
On Wednesday evening, the PPSC provisionally shortlisted 751 candidates for interviews against 331 advertised vacancies. Aspirants took to social media and submitted representations to the Prime Minister and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), flagging alleged irregularities in the selection pattern.
The candidates alleged unusual clustering of successful candidates, including 86 shortlisted individuals appearing in consecutive groups of three, four and six roll numbers. They also claimed that some examination centres recorded 10 to 11 selections from a single classroom, while one centre accounted for nearly 24 per cent of all qualifiers.
The Opposition parties, including the Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the BJP, targeted the AAP government, alleging malpractice and favouritism.
Pradesh Congress Committee chief Pargat Singh questioned the results and sought answers from Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann.
Punjab BJP leaders Kewal Singh Dhillon and Sunil Jakhar demanded an independent CBI probe and a stay on the interview process until the allegations were probed.
Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia expressed concern over the anxiety and uncertainty among aspirants.
Allegations denied
The AAP government dismissed the allegations as politically motivated, while the PPSC described them as a misinterpretation of statistical data.
According to the Commission, 3,959 candidates appeared at 12 examination centres in Patiala, of whom 751 were shortlisted, representing a success rate of approximately 19 per cent. The highest number of qualifiers from a single centre was 106, accounting for 14.1 per cent of the total. That centre had 496 candidates, the second-highest among the 12 centres.
The Commission maintained that classroom-wise variations and consecutive roll numbers were statistically plausible, pointing out that similar patterns had appeared in the 2018 and 2020 shortlists.
It clarified that no absent candidate was declared qualified and that biometric and manual attendance systems were used at all centres.
The PPSC said the centres were located around Patiala for administrative, logistical and security reasons. It maintained that shortlisting was carried out category-wise in accordance with applicable rules and the recruitment advertisement.