Now Reading: Delhi High Court Upholds DHJS Exam Questions, Dismisses Plea
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Delhi High Court Upholds DHJS Exam Questions, Dismisses Plea
The Delhi High Court has dismissed a petition that challenged two questions in the Delhi Higher Judicial Service (DHJS) Preliminary Examination 2026, ruling that courts can only interfere with an answer key when the error is ‘glaring and apparent’ with no need for reasoning or inference. The Division Bench of Justice Avneesh Jhingan and Justice Arun Bhardwaj was hearing a plea by a candidate who failed the cut-off by 0.25%.
The petitioner challenged Question No. 8 on a will executed while intoxicated and Question No. 51 on contract formation and revocation. The Court noted the petitioner did not raise objections within the three-day window after the model answer key was published on 28 July, though other candidates had. An expert committee considered the objections, and on 12 August the High Court committee accepted the deletion of eleven questions but rejected the two the petitioner later challenged. The Court held that the challenges relied on analysis and inferences, not a glaring error, and that the timeline for objections was significant for examination preparation. The plea was dismissed.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The Delhi High Court’s ruling reinforces the high bar for judicial interference in competitive exam answer keys, effectively shielding the expert committee’s discretion unless the error is self-evident without reasoning. The petitioner’s failure to object during the three-day window (28 to 31 July) and his reliance on inferential arguments left the bench no room to intervene, even though he missed the cut-off by a razor-thin 0.25%. For future litigants, this judgment makes clear that belated challenges to exam questions must meet an exceptionally ‘glaring’ standard, and that the examining body, not the court, gets the benefit of any doubt.
Source: livelaw.in
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Methodology and corrections.
