The Itanagar permanent bench of the Gauhati High Court on Monday delivered a historic judgment by directing the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) to conduct the APPSCC (Prelims and Mains) Examination afresh. After a lengthy court battle, the high court has given the judgment. It is still early days and there is the possibility that others may challenge this order in a higher court. But the judgment has come as a big setback for the public service commission. This has further dented the image of the commission and will make things only complicated. All the members of the APPSC, including the chairman, should resign on moral ground. Further, the secretary should be replaced by a new one.
The student community has lost faith in the present team of the commission. As the state cabinet has taken the decision to conduct the APPSCCE on the UPSC pattern, it will be good if a new team is allowed to conduct future examinations. As the court has ordered conducting fresh examination, the state government, in consultation with the APPSC, should explore the possibility of totally scrapping the previous examination. In the last two years, thousands of students have graduated, and it will be unfair if they are not given a chance to compete. In a state like ours, where job is a major issue, the state government should take a strong decision and conduct the APPSCC examination afresh, so that everyone has a fair chance to have a crack at it.