Civil Service Aspirant Who Cleared Prelims Moves Supreme Court Against UPSC Cancelling Her Candidature For Not Submitting Degree Certificates

A Bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar adjourned the hearing to next week, i.e. 6^th July, along with another petition on a similar issue.

The plea, filed through Advocate Tanya Shree, submits that the cancellation of the candidature via letter dated March 12, 2021, is "arbitrary, unreasonable and discriminates amongst the candidates similarly situated and therefore is in violation of Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India, 1950".

The facts of the matter are that as a result of the national lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic, the final examination of the Petitioner's B.Tech course got delayed. The exam was conducted in the end of September 2020 and results were declared after November 2020.  ITo appear for the UPSC Preliminary Exams in October 2020, the petitioner gave an undertaking that she would submit the documents as soon as results are declared. The petitioner was required to submit the proof of qualifying examination by November 11, 2020.

Since the results of her university were not announced by that time, the petitioner made a request to the UPSC to allow her to take the Mains exams on an undertaking.

Her university results came on November 28, 2020 and she was declared pass. She was later issued a provisional certificate by the University.  In January 2021, she appeared in the Mains exam.

However, the plea submits, that after appearing for Civil Services Mains Examination,  she received a letter which cancelled her candidature on the ground that she had not submitted proof of requisite educational qualification.

"It is noteworthy that the Petitioner had given an undertaking to the Respondent No. 1 that she will submit proof of qualifying examination as soon as results are published. Consequently, she has provided Respondent No. 1 with her requisite degree certificates but the same have not been considered by Respondent No.1".

The plea goes on to contend that an original copy of the documents is required only when candidates appear for the Personality Test. Therefore, exclusion of the Petitioner without taking into consideration the fact that the result was declared after November 2020 "on account of unprecedented situation arising out of COVID-19, reeks of unreasonableness and is manifestly arbitrary, which results in denial of equal opportunity to the Petitioner in matters of public employment".

It is also contended that principle of estoppel would apply in the matter as the petitioner had been issued an admit card on the basis of the undertaking, and therefore, she could not be denied the right to be considered for the Personality Test.

In light of the above, the plea states that cancellation of the candidature would render the whole year of the petitioner a waste, due to no fault of hers, and denying her the right to be considered for Personality Test would amount to grave injustice.