The Supreme Court on February 24 dismissed a plea seeking an extra attempt for those who exhausted their last chance in the 2020 UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Exam amid the COVID-19 pandemic or have got age barred from appearing in future tests.

A bench dismissed the petition filed by civil service aspirants and clarified that its decision would not restrict the Centre in exercising its discretion in future to deal with the difficulties as projected to the court.

The top court said that it is not exercising its plenary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution as it would set down a precedent and also have a cascading effect on examinations held in other streams during the pandemic.

The Centre and the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) submitted that not only the petitioners or intervenors before this Court, but there are large number of candidates who had appeared in the various examinations last year during the COVID-19 pandemic and everyone must have faced some  constraints/impediments/ inconvenience in one way or the other. 

In a February 5 hearing, the government offered candidates who have exhausted their chances an extra one, as a concession, but the apex court advised it against this.

The top court noted that in the preliminary examination of CSE-2020 held on October 4 in 74 cities 4,86,952, candidates appeared while 10,56,835 had enrolled. 

The number of last attempt candidates who appeared in the examination but have not attained age bar for CSE-2021 are 3,863 and those who will reach age bar are 2,236 candidates, while candidates having last attempt in terms of age bar but did not appear in CSE-2020 are 4,237. 

The apex court said the combined effect of candidates who appeared and not appeared and who require relaxation for CSE-2021 are a total of 10,336 aspirants which is 0.97 per cent of total candidates, who enrolled for examination, 2020. 

What is Article 142?

Article 142 deals with enforcement of decrees and orders of the Supreme Court.

It states that, “The Supreme Court in the exercise of its jurisdiction may pass such decree or make such order as is necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it, and any decree so passed or orders so made shall be enforceable throughout the territory of India in such manner as may be prescribed by or under any law made by Parliament and, until provision in that behalf is so made, in such manner as the President may by order prescribe.”

Section 2 states that “Subject to the provisions of any law made in this behalf by Parliament, the Supreme Court shall, as respects the whole of the territory of India, have all and every power to make any order for the purpose of securing the attendance of any person, the discovery or production of any documents, or the investigation or punishment of any contempt of itself.”

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