By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday was informed by the central government that a call on an extra attempt to appear for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) mains exam would be taken up by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). The top court was hearing writ petitions by three civil service aspirants who missed out on giving the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) mains exam as they were Covid-19 positive. The matter would now be heard on March 25.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Union government, told the top court that the counsel representing the UPSC has said that he would file a counter affidavit during the day.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan appearing for the petitioners had informed the court on March 7 that of the three petitioners, two had appeared in some papers before they tested positive for the virus. The petitioners in their writ petition filed through advocate Shashank Singh have said that in the absence of any kind of UPSC policy which could provide arrangements for Covid positive aspirants during the span of mains examination or before, it was violative of Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution. The petitioners have also prayed for an alternate relief for making some arrangements to enable the petitioner to appear in the rest of papers which they could not do before the results of Civil Service Mains Examination 2021 were published.
The plea states that petitioners who contracted Covid-19 during the course of their mains exams were mandatorily quarantined for at least seven days and it was a forced default for which they can’t be faulted and their careers cannot be jeopardised. The plea says that the pandemic has seen the courts go out of their way in restoring fundamental rights of citizens who have been affected by the pandemic and its consequences, especially when it comes to students and competitive exams. The petitioners were unable to give the mains examinations that were held between January 7 to January 16 in 2022.
