On Punjab Civil Services Exam Row, Selection Body Says Data Shows Nothing Unusual

The Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) on Thursday rejected allegations of irregularities in the Punjab Civil Services (PCS) Mains Examination 2025 results, with its chairman, Major General Vinayak Saini (retired), saying the accusations were based on a misinterpretation of statistical data. At a press conference in Patiala, Saini presented centre- and classroom-wise selection figures, maintaining that the examination was conducted fairly and transparently.

A total of 751 candidates were shortlisted for interviews against 331 advertised posts, out of 3,959 candidates who appeared at 12 examination centres in Patiala. Rejecting the claim that 24 per cent of shortlisted candidates came from a single examination centre, Saini said the maximum number of candidates selected from any one centre was 106, accounting for 14.1 per cent of the total. He said 496 candidates had appeared at that centre, making it the second-largest examination centre.

Patiala, Punjab: On alleged irregularities being raised regarding the results of the PCS Mains Examination-2025, Retired Major General Vinayak Saini, PPSC Chairman, says, "If I say, well, this advice is that if a heavy batch of good, brilliant candidates come together, they can come; if not so many good ones come, their percentage can also decrease. But if we look at it, if there were 179 classrooms and 751 candidates were selected in total, if we take the average of this as well, 4.2 candidates on average—if we go purely by the average—four to four-and-a-quarter candidates should be in every classroom..."

— IANS (@ians_india) November 5, 2026

On allegations of unusually high selections from individual classrooms, he said the examination was conducted in 179 classrooms, of which only three had 10 or more shortlisted candidates, with 11, 10 and 10 selections, respectively. "The average works out to approximately 4.2 candidates per classroom. Variations in the number of successful candidates across classrooms are statistically normal," he said, citing similar trends in the 2018 and 2020 examinations. The AAP came to power in 2022, after five years of Congress rule and 10 years of SAD-BJP before that, and the next polls are due by the coming February.

On questions over candidates with consecutive roll numbers being shortlisted, the PPSC chairman said there were 118 such groups of consecutive roll numbers among 751 shortlisted candidates in 2025. In comparison, the 2018 examination had 26 such groups among 153 shortlisted candidates, while the 2020 examination had 28 among 177 candidates, a high average. He rejected allegations that absent candidates had made it to the interview list. He added that biometric as well as manual attendance records were maintained at all centres.

On why three times the number of candidates were not shortlisted against 331 vacancies, he explained that the criterion was applied separately across all 21 categories and candidates had to meet the prescribed minimum marks in every paper and overall qualifying criteria.

He denied political interference in the examination process.

Saini said exam centres were selected after considering administrative, logistical and security requirements. Responding to questions about centres located in constituencies represented by ruling AAP MLAs, he said, "During my nearly one-and-a-half-year tenure at the PPSC, I have never received a phone call or faced pressure from any political party or political person. There has been no interference in the functioning of the commission."

The commission, in a press note, also asserted that CCTV cameras, control rooms, biometric attendance systems and jammers in every classroom were deployed to ensure transparency and security during the examination.

Opposition leaders continued to question the results and demanded an independent probe. BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu alleged what he called an unusually high number of selections from some exam rooms and centres. For instance, he claimed that Centre 8 had a shortlisting rate of 24.21 per cent, while the rate in Rooms 1 to 7 of Centre 1 was only 2.89 per cent.

"If the government is genuinely honest, the interview process should be stopped immediately, answer sheets should be sealed, and the entire matter should be investigated by an independent agency or the CBI," Bittu said. Punjab BJP chief Kewal Singh Dhillon also flagged alleged consecutive roll-number selections, among other claims.

State Congress chief Pargat Singh also questioned the results, citing the alleged selection of 10 to 11 candidates from individual rooms at four centres, shortlisting rates exceeding 40 per cent in certain rooms and significant variations in selection rates.

He asked Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the PPSC chairman to answer the questions raised by candidates and demanded an impartial inquiry. The PPSC then held a press conference and said the accusations were based on misinterpretations.