Civil services aspirants who were infected by COVID-19 and unable to appear in the Union Public Service main examination in 2021 have moved the Supreme Court seeking a second opportunity.
A Bench led by Justice A. M. Khanwilkar listed the case for March 7 and asked the three aspirant-petitioners to serve advance copies of their petition to all the parties listed in the case.
The petitioners have sought a direction to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to extend them an additional attempt to appear in the exam or make some arrangement to appear in the remaining papers.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the petitioners, informed the Bench that the UPSC mains examination was held in the second week of January, and out of the three petitioners, two of them had appeared in some papers before they were tested positive for COVID-19. He said the petitioners could have suppressed and lied, but they did not.
The petitioners, in their plea filed through advocate Shashank Singh, have said that they were tested positive for COVID-19 according to RTPCR test reports on January 6, 13 and 14.
Tough quarantine norms
The plea said the petitioners could not give the UPSC mains examination after testing positive for COVID-19 and owing to the restrictions imposed under the strict quarantine guidelines of the government.
“Also, there was absence of any UPSC policy which could provide arrangements for such petitioners who were COVID-positive during the span of mains examination or before it,” it said.
“The petitioners are approaching this court under Article 32 and seeking a direction to the respondent/UPSC to extend them an additional [extra] attempt to appear in the examination or make some arrangement to appear in the rest of papers which the petitioners could not give before the publication of result of civil service mains examination 2021,” the plea said.
