The apex court of India-the Supreme Court has clearly declared that there is no re-examination to happen for those who failed to appear on its scheduled date.

However, the reason can be many, from illness to accident that did not allow him to take the UPSC exam.

The Case of UPSC Petitioners

There was an affidavit filed by three aspirants in the court who successfully passed the UPSC-2021 prelims examination. Unfortunately, they did not appear in the main examination for being tested COVID-19 positive. Now, they were likely to reattempt and wanted another chance from the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).   

The UPSC claimed that any decision that is concerned with age relaxation and compensatory/extra attempt in the civil services examination comes under a ‘policy matter’. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) is a competent authority to make decisions in this regard.

As per UPSC, “The Commission usually conducts 13 examinations besides many recruitment tests during a year. Hosting these acid tests is a challenge and, legitimately, there is no provision for holding a re-examination in case one fails to appear for the examination on the scheduled date(s). Despite having any serious reason like any ailment/accident, it’s not possible to allow.”

Why is it not possible to reappear if you have missed the exam?

This is simply because the UPSC strictly follows the civil services examination as per the rules of this examination. The government of India’s DoPT drafts these sets of rules annually. AS per this commission, this department has evolved the entire recruitment cycle, training, and final appointment. This way, the government filters extraordinary talent on time to acquire for civil administration. Any disturbance at testing, training and final appointment can break the preset cycle, which casts a bubble effect in the future cycle of this prestigious examination. 

A similar matter surfaced headlines before also, which the Supreme Court listened to and led down the request of the aspirants. However, they were a COVID-infected case that failed to appear in the scheduled examination. 

The commission informed that the civil services main (written) examination 2021 was successfully conducted at 24 centres (cities/towns) on the scheduled dates from January 7, 2022, to January 16, 2022. It was hosted throughout the country while following due COVID-19 protocols. There was no compulsion to make any separate or special arrangement for COVID-infected candidates.

The Commission is abided by constitutional obligations to fill up crucial vacancies in the government departments in a timely manner. So, it’s imperative to schedule and conduct the examination on the scheduled dates.

Re-examination can cause delays in filling up vacancies. So, the Commission stringently follows the preset dates for these tests. 

What if delays happen in accommodating officers?

It may lead to a chaotic situation where no examination will be over on the due date. Consequently, vacancies in the government department will remain as-are for an indefinite period. This would also frustrate aspirants of the UPSC examination who would have prepared in the reputed UPSC coaching centers in Delhi or nearby area. The deferred examination may add to their dilemma. It may lead aspirants to pay out IAS training fees for a long period while practicing cracking through these tests.

The Result?

However, people were hoping to get a positive decision from the court. But, the DoPT has well explained the rules that it strictly follows in the context of the UPSC. 

Certainly, the DoP&T is also a stakeholder in the process of conducting these civil services exams. This is why it is compulsory for the Supreme Court to understand and listen to the stand of the DoP&T.

The Central Government had clearly stated to the apex court on Monday that any call related to an extra attempt to appear in the UPSC examination is the right of the DoP&T to take. The top court may hear the case, which happened on March 25.

Out of three, one petitioner was unfortunate as he had to skip the main exam that was scheduled from January 7 to January 16. He won’t be able to participate in any of the initial or main papers due to COVID.

The petitioners advocate Shashank Singh conveyed that they (candidates) tested positive for COVID-19 in the RTPCR test reports dated January 13, 14, and January 6.

The petition read that the petitioners could not take the UPSC mains examination for being tested COVID-19 positive. There were some barriers imposed under the strict quarantine guidelines of the government.

 “The petitioners are filing an affidavit in this court under Article 32. They want to seek direction to the Respondent/ UPSC, which should extend the date or allow for an additional (extra) attempt to appear in the examination. Alternatively, it should allow these cases to appear in the rest of the papers.

The petition claimed that the absence of corresponding policy and lacking arrangement to allow COVID-19 infected petitioners have violated their rights to appear in the civil service mains examination.