Supreme Court Asks Manipur Govt To Provide Enhanced Allowance To UPSC Candidates From Disturbed Hill Districts For Travel To Exam Centres

The Supreme Court on Friday (May 17) directed that the state of Manipur provide enhanced financial aid to UPSC candidates residing in the disturbed hill districts of Manipur, to enable them to travel to any of the exam centres out of the state. Having regard to the prevalent law and order situation in the conflict-ridden state of Manipur, the Court observed that bus services be provided to those candidates in the disturbed region of Senapati District travelling to their centre in Dimapur. 

The petitioners had filed the present Special Leave Petition against the order of Delhi High Court dated March 28, where travelling and reimbursement facilities were only provided to those candidates travelling to the exam centre in Imphal. It was additionally contended that the allowance of Rs. 1000 per day fixed by the High Court was insufficient to manage the expenses. 

The bench of CJI DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra ordered that financial assistance be given to the Hill Candidates from disturbed districts in the Hill regions of Manipur be increased to Rs. 3000 per candidate per day to cover the transportation, food and lodging expenses during their travel to out-of-state centres for UPSC examination. The order was made applicable to any candidate from the disturbed hill areas travelling to different state centres and was not just limited to those opting for the Imphal centre. 

" The persons presently residing in the Hill districts and are candidates for the Civil Services exam will be paid Rs 3000 per candidate per day (for 3 days) to enable such candidates to travel to a centre outside the state for the purpose of attending the exam. Any candidate desirous of obtaining the said benefit should indicate to the nodal officer of the state government the place where they are presently staying and the centre to which they have to travel." 

The order also specified the contact details/ email ID of nodal officers who can be contacted by candidates. 

The matter pertains to a Public Interest Litigation filed before the Delhi High Court seeking the issuance of directions to the  Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to make adequate arrangements for tribal candidates from the hill districts in Manipur so as to enable them to take the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2024 and Indian Forest Service (Preliminary) Examination, 2024 (“CSE– Preliminary”). The Petitioner Federation prayed for issuance of directions to the Respondents to set up examination centres at Churachandpur and Kangpokpi in the hill districts of Manipur and for reopening of the application portal/correction window to enable the candidates to opt for a centre of their choice. 

High Court, however, noted from the affidavit of UPSC that the Manipur government is unable to open exam centres at the Churachandpur and Kangpokpi, districts of Manipur due to the intense law and order situation in light of the ongoing ethnic violence in the State. The Court was informed that most of the Hill candidates who have opted for Imphal could select from centres outside the state including - Aizawal, Kohima, Shillong, Dispur, Jorhat, Kolkata, Delhi 

The impugned order by  Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora allowed the State's proposal to give financial assistance in the form of Rs.1000 as reimbursement per day (for 3 days) to cover the fooding and lodging expenses of the candidates from the hill districts. Additionally, the state would also cover conveyance fares up to 2nd class sleeper railway fare rates or the notified bus fare rate of the concerned state. The said benefit of the order was only made available to those travelling to Imphal for the UPSC exams. the UPSC also agreed to change the option of candidates going to Imphal to other states instead during the period 8th April 2024 to 19th April 2024 by requesting a change of examination centre at e-mailI.D: “uscsp-upsc@nic.in”

This was challenged before the Top Court on the grounds of inadequate measures taken by the state and that the said benefits were granted only to those candidates opting for the centre in Imphal and not other states. 

The Supreme Court further directed that transportation facilities be made available for candidates in the disturbed area of Senapati to be dropped at Dimapur centre and also increased the reimbursement amount of a candidate residing in the District Churchandpur. 

" This court has been informed that 8 candidates for the Civil service exams are drawn from the disturbed district of Senapati. The court is apprised that the state of Manipur will make arrangements for the transportation of the 8 candidates, if anyone of them so desires by arranging a bus from Senapati to Dimapur. It has been submitted that one candidate from Churchandpur, and while it may not be practical for the state to arrange for transportation, the allowance which is payable in terms of the High Court order would be increased from Rs. 2500 to Rs.5000."  

Advocate Nizam Pasha appeared for the Petitioner Federation assisted by Advocates John Simte, Sidharth Kaushik, and Awstika Das. The petition was filed by Advocate on Record Lzafeer Ahmad BF.  The Respondents were represented by the Advocate General of Manipur Mr Naorem Kumarjit Singh. 

Case Details : ZOMI STUDENTS FEDERATION VS. UNION PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION SLP(C) No. 010831 - / 2024