The Union government on January 25 made it clear in the Supreme Court that it cannot afford to give another chance to the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) aspirants, including “last-attempters”, who claimed their preparations for the October 4 prelims were severely restricted due to the pandemic.

In a 13-page affidavit filed before the court on January 25 late, the Department of Personnel and Training said it was “curious to note that the petitioners, who participated in the examination with open eyes, only approached the Supreme Court after the results of the examination was declared”.

“Be that as it may, it is submitted the UPSC made all the necessary arrangements for the conduct of CS [Preliminary] Examination-2020 on October 4 last year, in a safe and efficient manner adhering to all the COVID-19 safety protocols issued by the Government of India from time to time,” the government said.

Giving an additional attempt or relaxation of age for some candidates would amount to extending differential treatment. It would lead to an “un-leveling of the playing field”.

“Providing an extra attempt could further have a cascading effect by creating a ground for challenge on part of those candidates who have already appeared for the Civil Services [Preliminary] Examination-2020. It is submitted that other non-final attempt candidates, who undertook the examination this year without any murmur of discontent, would be disadvantageously placed in future examinations,” the government said.

A total of 4,86,952 candidates appeared in the CS (Preliminary) exam on October 4.

The UPSC had left no stone unturned in their pursuit to accommodate for the means and interests of the candidates. Besides,it had allowed candidates to change their centres to facilitate candidates who had moved to a different location owing to the pandemic.

Postponement

The contention that the pandemic had added to the candidates’ stress and hampered their preparations held no ground as the exam had been postponed from May to October, giving students more time to prepare, the Centre submitted.

“Furthermore, these conditions would have affected every candidate at the examination in a similar way, thus still maintaining a balance amongst all the candidates,” the affidavit said.

The government pointed out that the exam was held in the fifth phase of ‘Unlock’. Most of the restrictions had been removed by then.

On January 22, the government had, for the first time, told the court that it was “not agreeable” to give aspirants another crack at the exam. The court had asked the government to make its stand clear in an affidavit by January 25.

The January 22 revelation from the government had come after weeks of telling the court that a decision to grant another chance for UPSC aspirants was under “active consideration”.

The case is based on a petition filed by several aspirants, represented by advocate Anushree Prashit Kapadia, who had appeared in the prelims on October 4.

They had sought another shot at the exam in view of “innumerable, inevitable circumstances suffered by them due to COVID-19, which prevailed in the entire country during the crucial period of their preparation and even on the date of examination”.