Department of Personnel and Training to decide on giving extra attempt to UPSC aspirants who missed out due to COVID-19, Centre tells SC

Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) will take a call on whether an extra attempt will be given to the UPSC aspirants who had missed out on their Civil Services exam due to COVID-19 and had sought for an additional attempt to appear in the exam or not, the Centre informed the Supreme Court on Monday.

Representing the Centre, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, apprised the top court that the decision relating to the extra attempt has to be taken by DoPT.

Meanwhile, UPSC counsel said that they will file a counter affidavit later today.

Thereafter a bench headed by justices AM Khanwilkar listed the matter for further hearing on March 25.

The Court was hearing a petition filed by UPSC aspirants seeking to extend the benefit of additional/extra attempt. Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appeared for the petitioners.

The petition was filed by three UPSC aspirants through advocate Shashank Singh. The petitioners have urged to issue appropriate direction to UPSC to extend the benefit of additional/extra attempts and to make some arrangement for the petitioner to appear in the rest of the papers which the petitioners could not give before the publication of the result of Civil service Mains Examination 2021.

The petitioners said that they are UPSC aspirants who have cleared the UPSC-2021 Prelims Examination and were entitled to appear in the UPSC Mains Examination which was scheduled from January 7 to 16, 2022.

The petitioners could not give UPSC Mains Examination as they were Covid positive and there were restrictions imposed under the strict quarantine guidelines of the Government. Also, there was the absence of any kind of policy of UPSC which could provide arrangements for such petitioners who were Covid positive during the span of mains examination or before it.

The petitioners has urged the court to direct the UPSC to extend them an additional (extra) attempt to appear in the examination or make some alternative arrangement to appear in the rest of papers which the petitioners could not do before the publication of result of Civil Service Mains Examination 2021.

"Absence of policy and no arrangement to accommodate Covid positive petitioners to appear in the Civil Service Mains Examination 2021 have violated the right of the petitioners under Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India, " the petitioners said.

( With inputs from ANI )

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