Delhi HC Dismisses Plea To Postpone Civil Services (Main) Examination

Earlier on Wednesday, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) said the Civil Services (Mains) Examination will be held as per schedule on January 7, 8, 9, 15, and 16.

Delhi High Court (Image: Getty)

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed the plea of several candidates seeking direction to postpone the schedule of Civil Services (Mains) Examination 2021 till the Covid-19 situation normalises in the country.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) said the Civil Services (Mains) Examination will be held as per schedule on January 7, 8, 9, 15, and 16.

The UPSC said it had asked the state governments to ensure that no inconvenience was caused to the candidates and examination functionaries in their movement amid restrictions due to thw rising Covid-19 cases.

“After carefully reviewing the situation prevailing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Commission has decided to conduct the Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2021 as per schedule i.e. on 7th, 8th, 9th, 15th and 16th January, 2022,” the UPSC said in a statement.

The UPSC said the states have been asked to ensure that no inconvenience is caused to the candidates and examination functionaries in their movement.

“Candidates’ e-admit cards, identity cards of examination functionaries to be used as movement passes,” the statement added.

Earlier this week, some candidates had filed a plea in the Delhi High Court seeking a postponement of the Civil Services (Mains) Examination.

The petition mentioned that most of the centers for the exam were in metro cities, which are densely populated, and is witnessing an increase in Covid-19 cases.

“This increases our risk of getting infected and for many candidates, it is also the last attempt," the petition stated, Live Law reported.

“Further, there is no proper pre-examination testing. Temperature checks can be cheated by taking paracetamol. If few candidates attempt examination with Covid, then it might result in infecting all candidates as they have to spend 6 hours writing papers in same room. Further, once infected, candidates will be prohibited from writing subsequent papers as per UPSC policy. They also risk spreading to others including their families,” the petition added.

The civil services examination is conducted annually in three stages -- preliminary, mains and interview -- to select officers for the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others.