The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the petition seeking an extra chance in UPSC civil service exams for the candidates who had exhausted their last attempt in October 2020.
The petitioners, who had given their last attempt in Civil Service Examination 2020, had sought an extra chance citing difficulties created by the COVID-19 pandemic and the national lockdown. The petitioners argued that the pandemic affected their preparation and sought an extra attempt.
Justice AM Rastogi, who read out the operative part of the judgment, appreciated the efforts of the Advocate on Record of the petitioner, Anushree Kapadia. “You argued well. You were clear on facts”, the judge told the lawyer.
Detailed reasons for the dismissal will be known when the full copy of the judgment is made available.
The Centre had initially made an offer to give an extra attempt, subject to the age-bar. However, the petitioners argued for age-relaxation as well. Thereafter, the bench decided to hear the case on merits.
On 9th February 2021, a Bench comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar, Indu Malhotra, and Ajay Rastogi had reserved judgment in the matter(Rachna v Union of India).
At the final hearing, ASG SV Raju, appearing for the Centre had made submissions against the demand for extra chance and stated that the same was unwarranted as candidates were given sufficient time to prepare for the examination.
The hardships due to COVID19 affected all candidates uniformly and if the extra chance is given to last-attempt candidates, other candidates will also demanding the same, leading to an “endless cycle”, the ASG had added.
Senior Advocates Shyam Divan, CU Singh, and PS Narasimha appearing for the Petitioners had submitted that not granting the relaxation in the age-bar was arbitrary and unreasonable.
Earlier, the Centre had agreed to give an extra chance to such last attempt candidates but with a condition that the concession will be subject to age-bar. The Petitioners and the intervenors, while welcoming the offer of extra chance, opposed the Centre’s decision to confine it only to candidates not hit.
