The Supreme Court will hear on Monday a petition to postpone the preliminary examination of the civil services of UPSC 2020 due to the increase in cases of coronavirus infections in the country. A bench of three judges led by Judge AM Khanwilkar will hear the plea.
Guilty pleas have been filed by 20 UPSC civil service applicants. The UPSC 2020 Civil Services Exam is currently scheduled for October 4.
On September 24, the Supreme Court had asked attorney Alakh Alok Srivastava, who was appearing on behalf of the petitioners, to deliver a copy of the petition to the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) and the Center.
The petitioners from various parts of the country have stated to the Court that conducting examinations in the current circumstances will pose a risk to the health and safety of the candidates.
Some six lakhs of applicants are expected to appear in the 7-hour offline exam that will be held at centers in 72 cities across the country.
A new application has also been submitted in the case on behalf of a deputy commander from Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) who is to appear at the examination. The applicant has also requested postponement of the preliminary examination. The petition said that conducting the exam will discriminate between candidates from the most affected states and others, where Covid-19 cases are fewer.
The exam was scheduled for May 31, but was postponed due to the pandemic. On June 5, UPSC released a revised exam schedule that sets October 4 as the new date to take the exam.
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