State PSC exams: cut-offs, copies and the RTI route

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.

• 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.

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.

No — those attract third-party privacy. Your own evaluated book is yours; the aggregate statistics around cut-offs are public.

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 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.

• All exam guides
• Duplicate marksheet by RTI
• Status-check guides
• Rejection-recovery guides
• Citizen RTI Playbook
• The RTI Playbook book — drafting, appeals and deadlines in one place.

Last reviewed: 26 August 2026.