8 UPSC CSE Prelims 2026 questions had ‘no correct answers’; CAT issues notice as 16 marks at stake

Eight questions from the 2026 UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination are now under tribunal scrutiny. The Central Administrative Tribunal's Principal Bench in New Delhi has issued notice to the Union Public Service Commission after a group of candidates challenged what they described as factual errors, wrong answer keys and questions that went beyond the official syllabus.

The petition was filed by Sachin Tiwari and others, represented by advocate Shantanu Jugtawat, a Supreme Court lawyer with 16 years of experience who has appeared in cases including Sabarimala and Hathras. The CAT took up the matter on August 17 and has asked UPSC to respond. The next hearing is set for October 8, 2026.

Which questions are being challenged and why

The disputed questions are numbered 7, 11, 45, 60, 62, 82, 86 and 96 from General Studies Paper-I, Set A.

For six of them, Questions 7, 45, 60, 82, 86 and 96, the petitioners argue that the answer marked correct by UPSC contradicts authoritative source material. For the remaining two, Questions 11 and 62, the challenge goes further: the candidates contend that none of the four options provided was factually or legally defensible, making it impossible for any answer to be considered correct.

What the candidates did before going to court

When UPSC released the provisional answer key on May 27, 2026 and opened the objection window, the petitioners did not simply file complaints; they cross-referenced each disputed question against primary government records, statutory provisions and official documents before raising their objections through the Commission's Question Paper Representation Portal.

They followed this up with a detailed written representation to UPSC by email on June 2, attaching supporting material for each disputed question. No response ever came. The candidates say they remained in the dark about whether their objections were even read, let alone considered. It was only after the Prelims result was declared, with no word from UPSC, that they approached the CAT.

What they are asking for

The petitioners want UPSC to revisit and correct the provisional answer key and to delete the eight disputed questions from the evaluation process entirely. As an immediate interim measure, they have asked the tribunal to direct UPSC to disclose how it handled their objections, whether the questions were accepted for correction, rejected, or simply set aside without reasons.

Why the stakes are high

The candidates estimate that the disputed questions, factoring in the negative marking system, could account for more than 16 marks in aggregate. In a competitive field where qualifying for the Civil Services Main Examination often comes down to fractions of a mark, that gap could mean the difference between progression and elimination.