UPSC exam: Candidates who missed last attempt in 2020 due to COVID will get extra chance, Centre tells SC
UPSC CSE Prelims candidates who had their last attempt for the Civil Services exam in the year 2020 but could not appear due to COVID pandemic, will get another chance to appear in the prestigious exam, Centre told Supreme Court on Friday.
“Relaxation, only to the extent of providing one extra attempt for Civil Service Examination (CSE), specifically limited to CSE-2021, may be granted to only those candidates who appeared for CSE-2020 as their last permissible attempt and are otherwise not age-barred from appearing in CSE-2021,” the Centre told a bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar.
In a note filed in the top court, the Centre said that no relaxation shall be granted for CSE-2021 to those candidates who have not exhausted their permissible number of attempts or to those who are otherwise age-barred from appearing in CSE-2021 as per the prescribed age limits of different categories, or to any other candidate for any other reason whatsoever.
“This relaxation for the candidates and to the extent as prescribed above, shall be a one-time relaxation only and shall apply only for appearing in CSE-2021 and shall not be treated as a precedent,” it told the bench, also comprising Justice Dinesh Maheshwari.
The Centre said that the relaxation “shall not create any vested right whatsoever or any other purported right on ground of parity or otherwise, in favour of any other set/class of candidates at any time in the future.”
The bench asked the Centre to circulate the note and asked the petitioners to file their responses to it. The top court said it would hear the matter on February 8.
A week back, the top court had asked Centre as to why one-time relaxation cannot be given to civil service aspirants who could not appear for their last attempt in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic by giving them an extra chance. A bench of Justice AM Khanwilkar, BR Gawai and Krishna Murari had asked Additional Solicitor General SV Raju to apprise it on how many candidates would appear if one-time relaxation is given and how many times it has been done since the UPSC was established.
On January 25, the Centre had told the apex court that allowing extra attempt in UPSC civil services exam to those who could not appear in their last chance in 2020 due to COVID-19 would create a “cascading effect”, detrimental to the overall functioning and level playing field necessary for a public examination system.
In an affidavit filed in the apex court, the Centre had said that giving an additional attempt or relaxation in age for some candidates would amount to extending differential treatment to similarly placed aspirants at the examination.
On September 30 last year, the apex court had refused to postpone the UPSC civil services preliminary exam, which was held on October 4, because of the COVID-19 pandemic and floods in several parts of the country. However, it had directed the central government and the UPSC to consider granting an extra chance to candidates who otherwise have their last attempt in 2020, with corresponding extension of the upper age-limit.
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