UPSC Civil Services Examination is considered one of the most prestigious examinations in the country. Every year after the results are declared, the success stories of the successful candidates remain in the news. However, this time false claims have also come to light regarding the examination which have become the cause of controversy. Recently, a case has come to light from Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, when a woman claimed to have secured 113th rank in the Civil Services Examination 2025, but in the administrative investigation this claim was found to be false. Earlier, a similar case had come to light in Bihar, where a woman named Akanksha Singh had claimed to get 301st rank, which was later declared false by the Commission.

Bulandshahr’s Shikha Gautam’s claim exposed

After the release of the final result of Civil Services Examination 2025, Shikha Gautam, resident of Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, has claimed that she has secured 113th rank and has been selected for IAS. After this, this news spread rapidly and his success started being widely discussed at the local level. Shikha was described as the daughter of class IV employees, hence her story attracted people’s attention. She was welcomed at many places, honored with garlands along with drums and news started appearing in the media like peon’s daughter becoming an IAS officer. Meanwhile, another Delhi resident, Shikha, claimed that she has got 113th rank in the UPSC Civil Services Examination. She sent an email to the Commission demanding clarification on this matter. After this the matter reached the administration and investigation was started.

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Administration conducted investigation on the instructions of UPSC

After the complaint of Delhi’s Shikha, UPSC directed the District Magistrate of Bulandshahr to investigate the matter. The District Magistrate handed over the responsibility to the administrative officers to investigate this matter. Under this, Sadar Tehsildar Manoj Rawat was sent to Shikha Gautam’s house and got the investigation done. During the investigation, documents and certificates related to the family were sought. According to administrative sources, he could not provide correct evidence. Later, the family admitted their mistake and justified the selection of Delhi’s crest.

Bulandshahr’s Shikha could not even pass the mains exam

Investigation by the local administration also revealed that Shikha Gautam of Bulandshahr could not even pass the main examination of UPSC i.e. Mains. For this reason he was not even selected for the interview. During investigation it was also found that the name written in her document was not Shikha Gautam but Shikha Rani. After the facts revealed in the case, it became clear that Shikha, a resident of Delhi, got 113th rank in the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2025. After this, many evidences related to his selection have also surfaced on social media. According to the report, Shikha of Delhi is currently working on the post of Block Development and Selected Officer in Haryana.

Earlier, such a case also came to light in Bihar.

Earlier, a similar controversy had come to light in Bihar also regarding the Civil Services Examination. Akanksha Singh, resident of Bhojpur district of Bihar, had claimed that he has got 301st rank in UPSC. But later the Commission issued a clarification stating that the 301st rank belongs to Akanksha Singh of Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. It was also revealed in the investigation that the roll number was appearing different in the QR code of Akanksha’s admit card of Bihar. After this his claim was proved wrong.

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Union Public Service Commission UPSC released the notification of Civil Services Examination 2026 on 4 February, but this notification came into discussion more due to language and spelling mistakes than its information. In fact, by sharing screenshots of the document on social media, candidates claimed that there are more than 40 spelling and grammar mistakes in the notification. After which questions started being raised on the professionalism of the Commission.

Where were the major mistakes seen in the UPSC notification?

Many shocking mistakes were found on page number two of the UPSC notification itself. Here the word ‘Examination’ was written as ‘Examinaiton’ and ‘Candidates’ was written as ‘Cadidates’. Not only this, the same word also appears correctly after a few lines, which makes it clear that the document has not been proofreading properly. On page 7, Benchmark has been written as Bechmark and Functional as Functinal. On page 8, instead of Abbreviations, there is Abbreviations. Further in the list of examination centers on page 9, Kolkata has been written as KOLKATTA, whereas at one place on the same page the correct spelling is there. Apart from this, on page 67, agro-based industries have been written instead of agro-based industries, public sector underkings and associated have been written instead of Public Sector Undertaking. The spelling of the word BEYOND has been found as BEYND on the last page of the notification.

Commission’s trolling on social media

As soon as this notification of UPSC came out, social media users started sharing screenshots of these mistakes. Many candidates raised the question that if they make such mistakes in the examination or answer sheet, then their marks are deducted. Then how can there be so many basic mistakes in the official document of the Commission? A user has claimed that there are more than 40 spelling and language related mistakes in the entire notification, after which this issue quickly went viral.

Questions raised on the professionalism of the commission

UPSC is a constitutional body of the Government of India, which selects top administrative officers like IAS, IPS and IFSC for the country. These officers are later responsible for the administration of the districts, law and order and representing the country at the international level. In such a situation, due to such a large number of mistakes being found in the official notification, questions are being raised on the functioning of the Commission and its ability to pay attention to details.

Controversy UPSC application process continues

Despite these controversies, the application process for Civil Services Examination 2026 is going on, candidates will be able to apply through upsconline.nic.in till 24 February 2026. Under this examination, recruitment is to be done on 933 posts, while 80 posts are earmarked for the Indian Forest Service Examination 2026. Whereas last year i.e. in 2025, more than 10 lakh candidates had applied, out of which 4,161 passed the prelims, 2,736 reached the interview and 979 candidates were selected. Apart from this, an important change has also been mentioned in the notification. Now after selection, the permission to give the examination repeatedly while in service will not be the same as before. According to the new rules, the selected officer will get a chance to improve his performance once. After this, he will have to resign from the service to appear in the examination again, although no change has been made in the old rules related to IAS and IFS.

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