SC adjourns plea for extra UPSC Exam attempt; Centre says 'may not need to trouble court'

The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday has adjourned the hearing to February 5 on a plea seeking a second chance for UPSC aspirants who had given their last attempt at the civil service exam in October 2020. A Bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar postponed the matter to Friday after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought adjournment saying the government needed some time to discuss.

"We need some time to discuss the matter. Of course, we cannot seek time and do something irreversible. We are seeking adjournment as there may not be a need to trouble the court,"  the Solicitor General told the SC.

READ | Why Can't UPSC Aspirants Who Missed Last Attempt Be Given Another Chance, SC Asks Centre

'Why Can't UPSC Aspirants Be Given Another Chance?' SC asks Centre 

On January 29, SC had asked the Centre why can't UPSC candidates who missed the last attempt in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic be given another chance. A bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar, BR Gavai, and Krishna Murari had asked Additional Solicitor General SV Raju to notify it by February 1 on how many candidates would appear if one-time relaxation is given. The apex court of the country had asked the Centre to not issue any notification for the UPSC examination 2021 till February 1 and said that it was not asking to increase the age limit of candidates but the request is being made that a one-time concession is given to those who have exhausted all their attempts.

READ | Proposal For Extra Attempt To UPSC Aspirants Under Active Consideration: Centre Tells SC

On January 25, the Centre had told the top 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. The Centre said, "It may be noted that providing an extra attempt could further have a cascading effect by creating a ground for a challenge on part of those candidates who have already appeared for the CS (Preliminary) Examination-2020.

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In December, last year, the SC had heard the plea filed by UPSC & civil service aspirants seeking an extra attempt in the UPSC exams for those candidates who had their last attempt in the preliminary exam held in October 2020 but could not attend the exams in view of COVID-19. While representing the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had submitted to the Supreme Court that the Center and the UPSC are actively considering the proposal to give one more opportunity to affected civil service aspirants due to the COVID-19 pandemic."It is under active consideration of the Centre and UPSC. We are not taking an adversarial stand," Mehta said while adding that decision regarding the same will most like be taken in three or four weeks. However, the solicitor general stated that the rules might need an amendment for granting an extra chance.

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(With ANI Inputs)