Table of Contents
State PSC exams: cut-offs, copies and the RTI route
Quick Reply: Each state runs its own Public Service Commission — UPPSC, BPSC, MPPSC, RPSC, TNPSC and their counterparts — recruiting under the Constitution for state services, typically through prelims, mains and interview. When a cut-off looks arbitrary, marks seem wrongly totalled, or a result just never arrives, the RTI Act works on every one of them: ask for the cut-off computation, the answer key applied, and a copy of your evaluated answer sheet. Template below, valid for any state PSC.
State Public Service Commissions are constitutional bodies. Article 315 of the Constitution provides a Public Service Commission for the Union and for each state (two or more states may share a joint commission), and Article 320 assigns them recruitment for state services. That constitutional footing is why every state PSC, however slow its examination calendar, is squarely a public authority under the RTI Act, 2005 — the Act applies centrally, with each state's rules fixing the fee and the mode of payment.
What you can ask for, and what the law already gives
- Cut-off marks — category-wise, stage-wise, with the number of candidates at each score. Commissions publish headline cut-offs; the computation behind them is a record, and asking for it is routine.
- Answer keys — final answer keys are usually published; where they are not, or where a key changed between provisional and final, the RTI gets you the applied key with dates.
- Your evaluated answer sheet — the Supreme Court settled in 2011, in the CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay case, that an examinee is entitled to inspect and obtain a copy of their own evaluated answer book. That holding is applied to commission examinations across states.
- Normalization formulae — when papers are held in multiple shifts or languages, ask for the normalization method actually applied, not just the brochure's promise.
- *Not available: re-evaluation. Commissions re-total and correct arithmetic errors; they do not re-mark answers at your request. Frame the RTI around records, not around begging for a second opinion. ===== The three common griefs, matched to asks ===== * “I missed by one mark.” — Ask for your evaluated sheet, the key applied, and the cut-off computation. Arithmetic and totting errors surface here. * “The interview marks destroyed my rank.” — Ask for your interview score sheet with the panel's recorded marks and the weightage formula. Boards record these; they must furnish them. * “The result has been 'coming soon' for a year.” — Ask for the file's current stage, the officer holding it, and the reasons for delay against the published calendar. ===== A real example ===== Kashvi Pathak missed a state PSC mains cut-off by two marks, in a year when the cut-off moved sharply without explanation. She filed a five-point RTI: her evaluated answer sheets for both papers, the final answer key with dates of any corrections, the category-wise cut-off computation, and the number of candidates within five marks of the cut-off. The reply showed one answer-book page had been left unmarked in totalling — a re-totalling application under the commission's own rules corrected her total, and she crossed the line. The RTI did not re-mark her answers; it produced the paper trail that made the commission's own correction mechanism usable. ===== The RTI template — copy, fill, file ===== <code> To: The Public Information Officer, [Name of State Public Service Commission], [city] Subject: Application under section 6, RTI Act 2005 — examination records of [EXAM NAME & YEAR] Sir/Madam, in respect of Roll No. [NUMBER] of [EXAMINATION, YEAR], kindly provide: 1. A copy of my evaluated answer books for Paper [I/II], as held disclosable by the Supreme Court in CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay (2011). 2. The final answer key applied, and every correction made to the provisional key, with dates. 3. Category-wise cut-off marks for each stage, with the computation and the number of candidates within five marks of the cut-off. 4. My interview marks, the maximum marks and weightage formula applied, and the marks recorded by the panel. 5. Where multiple shifts were held, the normalization formula applied and a worked example. Application fee paid as per the state's RTI rules. Yours faithfully, [Name, address, phone] </code> === After the reply === * Day 30, no reply — first appeal within 30 days, section 19(1); the FAA must decide within 30 days, extendable to 45. * Refusal or nonsense — second appeal to the State Information Commission within 90 days, section 19(3). * Parallel track** — most commissions also run their own re-totalling or representation window after results; use both. The RTI supplies records; the commission's window supplies the correction.
Frequently asked questions
Do state PSCs fall under the central RTI Act or a state act?
The RTI Act, 2005 is one Act for the whole country; what differs by state is the rules — the fee amount and how you pay it. File to the commission's PIO under the state rules.
Can I get other candidates' answer sheets?
No — those attract third-party privacy. Your own evaluated book is yours; the aggregate statistics around cut-offs are public.
Will filing an RTI prejudice my future attempts?
No. Seeking records is a statutory right, and commissions handle these applications routinely. The information you get is usable in representations and appeals regardless.
The commission says answer sheets are confidential under its regulations.
The Supreme Court's 2011 ruling governs: an examinee's own evaluated answer book is disclosable. If the commission still refuses, that recorded refusal becomes the centrepiece of your first appeal.
Related
- The RTI Playbook book — drafting, appeals and deadlines in one place.
Last reviewed: 26 August 2026.