UPSC Civil Services Exam : Supreme Court Refuses To Entertain Plea To Quash Select List For Violating 50% Reservation Limit

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a writ petition filed by a civil service exam candidate seeking to quash the final selection list for Union Public Services Commission(UPSC) Civil Services Examination 2020 to the extent it violates the 50% reservation ceiling.

The petitioner, Nitish Shankar, who had appeared in the 2020 civil services exam, argued that by implementing the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quota, the reservation has become 60% and only 40% was left for the general category. It was argued in the petition that UPSC has recommended 34.55% candidates for appointment against the general category and 65.44% against the reserved category and this sabotaged merit in selection.

A bench comprising Justice L Nageswara Rao and Justice BR Gavai expressed disinclination to entertain the petition. At one stage of the hearing, the bench warned the petitioner's lawyer that the petition will be dismissed with a cost of Rupees one lakh. The bench pointed out that the EWS reservation was introduced as per the 103rd Constitutional Amendment, the validity of which is now referred to a larger bench.

The petitioner's counsel requested that the writ petition be tagged along with the petitions relating to the EWS quota before the 5-judge bench and the vacant seats may not be filled in the meanwhile. The bench said that the petitioner cannot seek to stall the appointments while the issue is pending before the larger bench.

The bench asked why the petitioner has approached the Supreme Court instead of moving the High Court.  The counsel replied that since it was a pan-India issue, the Supreme Court was approached. The bench was not convinced with his reply.

The petitioner's lawyer then sought to withdraw the petition with liberty to approach the High Court. Accordingly, the petition was dismissed with liberty to approach the High Court, if the petitioner is so advised.