The Center told the Supreme Court on Friday that additional efforts should be made in this Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Exam Impossible. The top court is hearing a petition filed by three candidates, who had qualified the UPSC 2021 preliminary examination but could not appear in all the papers of the main examination after testing positive for COVID-19 and are now unable to appear in the examination. Asking for an extra effort. We have filed the affidavit. Extra efforts are not possible. We have considered that, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, told a bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and AS Oka.
UPSC had recently told the top court that there is no provision to conduct re-examination if a candidate fails to appear for the examination on the scheduled date for any reason, including because of illness or accident. Including being unable to give. During the hearing on Friday, Bhati said that the Center has filed an affidavit in this matter.
The bench said it will hear the matter on March 28 and asked the apex court registry to circulate the affidavit along with the paper book of the case. The Center has said in its affidavit that the Civil Services Examination (CSE) is conducted every year by UPSC for a particular CSE as per the CSE rules notified by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
It said the matter of compensatory/extra effort was earlier adjudicated by the Apex Court against the plea of hardships being faced by the candidates due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the same was not accepted. The affidavit mentions judgments and orders passed by the apex court on separate arguments in February last year and July 2021.
It said that after the July order last year, several representations had been received in the DoPT seeking similar demands for compensation/extra effort. The matter has been considered and it is not found possible to change the existing provisions regarding number of attempts and age-limit in respect of CSE.
The Center said any relaxation in the age-limit due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the number of attempts permissible may also lead to similar demands by candidates of other categories. It will also affect the chances of other candidates who are eligible as per the existing provisions as it will increase the number of candidates competing with such candidates. This will give rise to similar demands by the candidates of other examinations conducted across the country, it said.
The affidavit said that the existing age limit for admission to CSE is 21 to 32 years with relaxation for certain categories of candidates and the permissible number of attempts is also six with relaxation for certain categories of candidates. Seeking to dismiss the petition, it said that the extant rules provide a reasonable opportunity to the candidates to make one attempt in this examination so as to secure placement in case an attempt is lost due to certain exigencies.
Meanwhile, the petitioners have also filed a counter affidavit in response to the affidavit filed by UPSC in the matter. The petitioners have submitted that they did not fail to appear in the examination of their own volition and were compelled not to appear in view of the guidelines laid down by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which specifically stated that the affected person is required. COVID-19 to undergo mandatory quarantine and isolation.
He says that earlier in 2014 and 2015, DoPT had taken extra efforts due to sudden change in curriculum. The rejoinder affidavit filed by advocate Shashank Singh states that the petitioners are entitled to compensatory effort in lieu of their last attempt due to COVID-19 and absence of policy for them.
UPSC in its affidavit filed in the apex court has said that any decision regarding relaxation of age and compensatory/extra effort in civil services examination is a policy matter which falls under the jurisdiction of DoPT. While two of the three petitioners had to skip the main examination held from January 7 to 16, after appearing in some preliminary papers in between, the third candidate could not appear in any of the papers due to COVID-19.
The petitioners have stated that they tested positive for COVID-19 in the RTPCR test reports dated January 13, 14 and 6 respectively. The petition states that the petitioner could not take the UPSC mains exam due to testing positive for COVID-19 and restrictions imposed under the strict quarantine guidelines of the government.
Further, UPSC lacked any kind of policy that could provide for such petitioners who were COVID positive during or before the main examination, it said. The petitioners are approaching this Court under Article 32 and seeking a direction to the Respondent/UPSC to be given an (extra) attempt to appear in the examination or, alternatively, to appear in the remaining papers. Some arrangements should be made for this which the petitioner can make. It has been said in the petition that before the publication of the result of Civil Services Main Examination 2021, do not give. It claimed that the absence of a policy and non-arranging of COVID-19 positive petitioners to appear in the Civil Services Main Examination 2021 has violated their rights, which are covered under Article 14 (equality before law) of the Constitution of India. Huh.
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