Delhi High Court slams SSC over gag on exam paper discussions

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday strongly criticised the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) for issuing an order that prohibited individuals and social media content creators from discussing examination question papers. The bench, comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, said a selection body “cannot put a gag on the discussion of exam papers.”

The court issued notice to the SSC, directing it to file its response within three weeks.

The development comes after a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenged SSC’s September 8 notice, which warned of action against content creators, social media platforms, and individuals who discuss, analyse, or disseminate SSC exam question papers or their contents. The PIL argued that the order imposed unreasonable restrictions on the discussion, analysis, and sharing of examination materials.

“You (SSC) can’t put such a gag order. What is this? You can’t discuss an exam paper? How can you issue such a notification? After coming out of the examination hall, the first thing, at least we used to do in our days, was to discuss the paper,” the bench remarked.

The PIL, filed by Vikas Kumar Mishra, described the SSC’s notice as illegal, arbitrary, and perverse, asserting that it violated students’ and the public’s right to freedom of speech and expression. The notice also clarified that any violation would invite penal action.

The SSC conducts exams to recruit staff for various Group B (non-gazetted) and Group C (non-technical) posts across the Government of India and its ministries and departments.

With PTI inputs