PIL BEFORE DELHI HC SEEKING AN UNLIMITED NUMBER OF ATTEMPTS TO APPEAR IN THE CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION FOR CANDIDATES WITH DISABILITY

The Delhi High Court issued notices to the Central government, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), and the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) after hearing a public interest litigation petition seeking unlimited attempts to appear in the Civil Services Examination for candidates with Disability (PWD) category.

The petitioner also prayed for age relaxation up to 47 years irrespective of their reservation in the vertical category. The petitioner referred to SC's judgment in Aryan Raj v Chandigarh Administration and Ors, where it was held - "Persons with disabilities are entitled to the same benefits of relaxation as that of SC/ST candidates in public education and employment, as they are also considered socially backward." 

The petitioner, NGO Evara Foundation, also challenged the exam notification for Civil Services Examination 2021 and sought a stay on the ground that out of 29 vacancies for the PwD candidates, only 22 vacancies have been advertised. The Court, however, refused to allow this challenge.

The petitioners also sought other reliefs, such as conducting an inquiry of all the backlog vacancies reserved for the people of the PwD category since 1996 and filling up those backlog vacancies through the Examinations.

Author: Papiha Ghoshal