Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:77664 Court No. - 4 Case :- WRIT - A No. - 6467 of 2025 Petitioner :- Manas Dwivedi And 4 Others Respondent :- Union Of India And Another Counsel for Petitioner :- Awadhesh Kumar Malviya Counsel for Respondent :- A.S.G.I. Hon'ble Ajit Kumar,J. 1. Heard Sri Awadhesh Kumar Malviya, learned counsel for the petitioners as well as Sri Puneet Upadhyay, learned Advocate holding brief of Sri Naveen Chandra Gupta, learned counsel for the respondents. 2. By means of this petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution, petitioners have prayed for a direction to the concerned respondent to cancel the first shift of the second stage Computer Based Test (CBT-2) of Railway Recruitment held for the post of Junior Engineer, DMS, CMA etc. conducted on 22.04.2025. 3. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the petitioners though participated in the first shift held on 22.04.2025 but there were certain issues regarding software and later on when the similar issue arose in the second shift held on the same day, the second shift examination came to be cancelled on 26.04.2025. Accordingly, petitioner made a representation on 04.05.2025 that since the second shift examination has come to be cancelled for software issues, the first shift examination also ought to have been cancelled as the similar issue had arisen during first shift examination as well. Learned counsel for the petitioners further submits that in identical situation even previously the respondents had cancelled both shifts examination. 4. Meeting the submissions so advanced by Sri Malviya appearing for the petitioner, Sri Upadhyay appearing for the concerned competent respondent submits that there was no such complaint regarding first shift examination as there was no software issue. He submits that looking to the order impugned, it is clear that the question paper which was available in the first shift examination got reproduced due to software issues in the second shift examination also and hence it became imperative to cancel the second shift examination. It is further submitted that in respect of first shift examination, the candidates who had participated in the first shift had never made any complaint in writing and they came to make complaint only on 04.05.2025 after the second shift examination was cancelled. According to him, if candidates had any issue with regard to software during examination of first shift, such candidates would have promptly reacted before the competent authority by making a complaint regarding that on same day or at least on the second day but the way participants remained silent and did not make any complaint, it leads to an inevitable conclusion that the candidates had not such issue and that was why they did not complain, even while the second shift examination was cancelled on 26.04.2025. It is argued that the subsequent application seeking cancellation of first shift examination is a request of an afterthought. 5. Having heard learned counsel for the respective parties and having perused the records, I find that the second shift examination has come to be cancelled only due to software problem since the questions got repeated from first shift to the second shift, therefore, the examination conducting body was left with no other option but to cancel the examination, and thus, the second shift examination was got cancelled. 6. From the recitals contained in the entire order dated 26.04.2025 it is clear that the software issue was the reason for cancellation of second shift examination. 7. In so far the argument with regard to the complaint made by the petitioners is concerned, upon a pointed query being made, learned counsel for the petitioners could not satisfy the court as to why complaints were not made by the participants against the first shift examination if there was any glitch or issue. Still further why not on the day when the second shift examination was cancelled. 8. In the considered view of the Court, no prudent man will wait for a week or two to make complaint with regard to any issue of software that he faced during examination. 9. In a competitive examination, participants are supposed to remain very vigilant and in the event they find any difficulty in an online examination/ test, then they have to react very promptly at least to the invigilators by writing them to address the issue in software or any glitch occurring in the computer system. 10. In the considered view of the Court, if the petitioners have waited for a long time and did not rise to make a complaint even on 26.04.2025 when the second shift examination was cancelled, then there is merit in the submission advanced by learned counsel for the respondents that the complaint made by the petitioners was just an afterthought. 11. In such above view of the matter therefore, I do not find any merit in the petition. Petition is accordingly dismissed. Order Date :- 13.5.2025 IrfanUddin Digitally signed by :- IRFAN UDDIN SIDDIKI High Court of Judicature at Allahabad