Appropriate Authority Considers Extra Attempt for UPSC Civil Services Exam: Supreme Court

On Monday the Supreme Court discarded the plea for the benefit of 24 UPSC aspirants looking for an additional attempt in the civil service examination in the year 2021 considering the Centre presenting that the issue is getting considered by the suitable authority.

A bench consisting of Justices AM Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari & Sanjiv Khanna heard ASG Mr Aman Lekhi, who showed up in the interest of the Union of India (DoPT), expressing that the issue is getting looked at. The issue will be properly considered by a suitable authority when the Rules for CSE-2021 will be outlined one year from now.

In this context, the Supreme Court observed,

"The issue raised in the present writ petition is in consideration of the appropriate authority and in light of the observations made by this Court in an order dated 30.09.2020 in Writ Petition(C) No. 1012 of 2020 [Vasi Reddy Govardhan Sai Prakash & Ors. V. UPSC & Ors.] needful is being done in the matter." Petitioners had requested to expedite the decision.

The Bench additionally granted freedom to the Petitioners to move toward the Hon'ble Court if the proposed verdict doesn't satisfy the goals of the Petitioners.

"We leave it to the competent authorities to assuage the grievance of the petitioners, as brought before this Court in the present Writ Petition appropriately. If the proposed decision does not fulfil the aspirations of the petitioners, it will be open to them to challenge that part of the decision".

- Supreme Court

Additionally, an intervention application was filed by 15 Applicants in support of the writ petition. The Bench has discarded the appeal and the forthcoming IAs in the above terms.

Senior Advocate P.S. Narsimha and Advocate Atul Agarwal represented the Petitioners.

On the last date of hearing, the bench engaged the petitioner(s) to serve a development duplicate on UPSC and DoPT in a plea in the interest of 24 UPSC aspirants looking for an additional attempt in the civil service examination in 2021.

The petition states that an additional attempt is valid because their preparation has been severely interrupted on account of CoVID-19 situation and also because next year they will become age-barred.

"For the present year, the petitioners' preparation has been disrupted on account of Covid-19 pandemic." said the plea in SC.

In this context, the petition wanted to suppress the decision dated September 9, 2020, of the Centre whereby, as per the averments, representations put forth on behalf of the petitioners' seeking grant of a one -time age and attempt relaxation in the Civil Services Examination 2021, have not been appropriately considered.

"It is submitted that all petitioners have/ will have crossed the maximum age prescribed for appearing in UPSC exam by the time the dates of UPSC Exam - 2021 are notified," the plea reads.

It is claimed that the applicants have properly perceived the issues faced by the applicants in regard of their planning in CSE-2020 in its Notice dated July 1, 2020, and an alternative of quitting for understudies showing up in CSE-2020 was given to competitors to forestall weariness of their attempts.

"However, while doing so, the UPSC failed to consider the position of persons like the Petitioners who cannot withdraw/opt-out unless and until they are also provided with a one-time age relaxation" - Plea In SC.

It is opposed that it was important to consider and allow the solicitation for age-relaxation at this stage itself because relying upon the relaxation give, the Petitioners would be in a situation to forego their chance in the Civil Servies Examination of 2020.

In this scenery, it is opposed that the Respondents' inability to take any clear decision on the Petitioners' representation, the petitioners are unable to decide whether they can forego the Civil Services Exam of 2020 to appear with appropriate research in the Civil Services Exam of 2021.

"The Respondents have therefore acted arbitrarily in violation of fundamental rights of the petitioners guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution," the petitioners state.

The Preliminary stage of civil service examination was held on Sunday 4th October 2020.