No extra chance for aspirants who couldn’t appear in CSE 2020: Centre tells SC

New Delhi, Feb 1: The Centre told the Supreme Court on Monday that it cannot grant an extra chance to the civil services aspirants who could not appear or prepare well for their last attempt in the UPSC exam in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reiterating it would amount to extending “differential treatment” to similarly placed candidates.
The top court however adjourned the hearing in the matter till Friday after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought time to discuss the issue once again.
At the outset, a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheswari was told by Additional Solicitor General S V Raju that the Centre was not agreeable to giving a one-time concession to the candidates who were not able to appear in their last attempt due to the pandemic. Raju also furnished a chart to the court giving details of relaxation given by UPSC in civil services exams since its inception and said that in 1979, 1992 and 2015 relaxations were given to the candidates due to change in patterns of examination. The bench said then it is not the first time that the exemption would be granted.
Raju said that in 1979 and 1992 there was no preliminary examination and something new was introduced and subsequently rules were tweaked.
The bench said that the one-time relaxation will benefit over 3,300 students without even increasing the age-limit. It told Raju that if the Centre is not acceding to the suggestion then it would like to hear the petitioners.
The top court on September 30 last year had refused to postpone the UPSC civil services preliminary exam because of COVID-19 and floods in several parts of the country. However, it had directed the Centre to consider granting an extra chance to aspirants. (PTI)