Impossible to postpone UPSC Prelims 2020, says UPSC; SC hearing on Sep 30

UPSC on Monday told the Supreme Court that it would be impossible to postpone Prelims 2020. SC to now hear the matter on Wednesday

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has informed the Supreme Court that it would not be possible to defer the UPSC preliminary exams beyond October.

"It is impossible to agree to petitioners. It was supposed to be held on September 30. Thereafter it was deferred to October 4. Deferment would nullify the objective of conducting the exam for four arms of government," Advocate Naresh Kaushik, appearing for UPSC, informed the Bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar, BR Gavai and Krishna Murari.

The three-judge Bench has now asked UPSC to file an affidavit in reply to the plea by tomorrow so that the case can again be taken up on September 30.

Last week, without issuing notice, a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Sanjiv Khanna agreed to hear the matter and granted liberty to the petitioner to serve advance copy of the petition on the Standing Counsel for the Union Public Service Commission as well as on the Standing Counsel for the Central Agency representing Union of India through email/online.

The petitioners had sought postponement of the Civil Services Exam for two to three months, so that the flood/ incessant rains go away and Covid-19 curve flattens. According to the plea the seven-hours long Offline exam (Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination), will be taken by approximately 600,000 aspirants at test centres in 72 cities across the country.

“ Conducting the aforesaid examination across India at such perilous time, is nothing else but putting lives of lakhs of young students at utmost risk and danger of disease and death. Also, the natural calamities like flood, incessant rain, landslides etc. are likely to directly affect the life and health of the petitioners and many similarly situated students", the petition said.