Cuttack, Aug. 19: The Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) has challenged the Orissa High Court order that directed it to conduct a fresh Odisha Judicial Service (Preliminary) Examination - 2015.

The high court had issued the order on July 28 after 24 of the 100 questions was found to be incorrect. "Yesterday, an appeal petition was filed in the Orissa High Court against the order issued by a single judge bench to conduct a fresh examination," OPSC counsel Pradipta Mohanty said today.

The public service commission wants to publish the results of the preliminary written examination by awarding pro-rata marks, as it is not possible to conduct a fresh test. Pro-rata means to award marks for the 24 incorrect questions on the basis of the marks secured by a candidate for the rest 76 questions.

The OJS-2015 exam is being held for direct recruitment to the cadre of civil judges. The preliminary test was held on May 31 and 1,879 applicants had taken the test. It had come under judicial scrutiny after 19 applicants filed a petition alleging that 15 out of 100 questions were wrong.

The OPSC had formed a committee to assess the allegations, and according to the report, 24 out of the 100 questions were found incorrect. The panel recommended marks be given on pro-rata basis for the erroneous questions.

The single judge bench of Justice B.R. Sarangi, however, ruled that "in the interest of justice, equity and fair play, the high court cannot allow injustice to be caused to the candidates by allowing OPSC to award marks on pro-rata basis, rather it would be equitable if fresh preliminary written examination is conducted".