UPSC 2020 SC Judgement: On 30th September 2020, the Supreme Court has dismissed the plea to postpone UPSC Prelims 2020 Examination. The court rejected a plea seeking the postponement of 2020 preliminary exams for a few months in view of the Coronavirus pandemic and the floods in several regions of the country. The apex court also rejected a plea seeking the clubbing of 2020 prelim exams with the 2021 exams, saying that such a move could have a “cascading effect”.
However, considering the impact of Covid-19 pandemic, the Supreme Court has asked the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to consider giving an extra attempt to those candidates for whom this year’s exam is their last chance.
The decision came after UPSC opposed the plea, telling the court that all the necessary precautions and measures had been put in place for the exams, while also giving precedence of other exams it conducted amid the pandemic, including the NDA, in which even students who just cleared Class 12 are allowed to appear, as against the UPSC, for which aspirants at least need to be graduates.
Hence, UPSC would conduct the UPSC Prelims 2020 on October 4, 2020 – Sunday, as per the schedule. The e-Admit Cards can be downloaded from UPSC Website. The candidates who are COVID19 positive would not be allowed to break the medical protocol of quarantine. However, SC has directed and UPSC has assured that candidates would be provided separate sitting areas in case they present with fever or cough on the day of the exam.
The exam was originally scheduled to be conducted on May 31, but was postponed time and again before the UPSC decided to finally fix October 4. This adds UPSE’s CSE 2020 to a list of exams whose fate has been decided by the apex court, with aspirants for NEET and JEE earlier moving SC to seek a postponement. However, the SC had then as well refused to postpone the exams.
UPSC’s Civil Services Exams are conducted every year to select officers for the prestigious Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Revenue Service (IRS) among others, and lakhs of aspirants appear for the exams every year.
UPSC 2020 SC Judgement: Supreme Court Dimisses Plea to postpone Exam