TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2021 (2) TMI 1304
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....xamination 2020") which was held on 4th October 2020 but when they failed to achieve their goal, approached this Court by filing the instant writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution seeking mandamus to the 1st respondent to extend one additional attempt to the petitioners/intervenors as they are being barred from attempting the examination in future on account of exhausting of available attempts or on account of age bar subsequent to Examination 2020. 3. The prayer which has been made in the instant petition is as follows: "(a) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction in the nature thereof and declare that the action of the respondents of not issuing appropriate policy for grant of an extra attempt to candidates for whom civil services examination 2020 would be last attempt as being violative of Articles 14, 19, 29 and 21 of the Constitution of India, and by way of issuance of an appropriate writ, order or direction of or in the nature of mandamus, and/or any other writ, order or direction, interalia, direct the Respondent/s to provide one extra attempt to the last attempt candidates including the petitioners, in addition to n....
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....persons with benchmark disability who are eligible to avail of reservation applicable to such candidates. Note:( (I) An attempt at a Preliminary Examination shall be deemed to be an attempt at the Civil Services Examination. (II) If a candidate actually appears in any one paper in the Preliminary Examination, he/she shall be deemed to have made an attempt at the Examination. (III) Notwithstanding the disqualification/cancellation of candidature, the fact of appearance of the candidate at the examination will count as an attempt. 6. (a) A candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 32 years on the 1st of August, 2020 i.e., he must have been born not earlier than 2nd August, 1988 and not later than 1st August, 1999. Necessary action to make corresponding changes in respective Rules/Regulations pertaining to various services is being taken separately. (b) The upper agelimit prescribed above will be relaxable: (i) up to a maximum of five years if a candidate belongs to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe; (ii) up to a maximum of three years in the case of candidates belonging to Other....
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....o (d) including deaf-blindness.] will be eligible for grant of cumulative age-relaxation under both the categories. Note II : The details of Functional Classification (FC) and Physical Requirements (PR) of each service are indicated in Appendix IV of these Rules which are identified and prescribed by the respective Cadre Controlling Authorities (CCAs) as per the provisions of Section 33 and 34 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. Only those category(ies) of disability(ies) mentioned in Appendix IV shall apply for the examination under Persons with Benchmark Disability (PwBD) category. Therefore, the candidates belonging to the Persons with Benchmark Disability categories are advised to read it carefully before applying for the examination. Note III : The term Ex-servicemen will apply to the persons who are defined as Ex-servicemen in the Ex-servicemen (Reemployment in Civil Services and Posts) Rules, 1979, as amended from time to time. Note IV : The age concession under Rule 6(b)(iv) and (v) will be admissible to Ex-servicemen i.e. a person who has served in any rank whether as combatant or noncombatant in the Regular Army, Navy and Air F....
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.... online application, it could be withdrawn from 12th March, 2020 to 18th March, 2020. Thereafter the admit cards were issued to all the candidates who intended to participate in the selection process, but because of the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic, which was notified by the National Disaster Management Authority vide its order dated 24th March 2020, the Commission by its Press Release dated 4th May, 2020 deferred the Examination 2020 and further informed that the revised schedule of examination will be notified at a later stage. 8. Taking note of the unlock 1.0 guidelines published on 5th June 2020, the Commission decided to conduct the preliminary examination on 4th October, 2020. Several candidates submitted their objections. Taking note thereof, the Commission allowed the candidates to submit their revised choice of examination center by its letter dated 1st July, 2020 and further opened the window for withdrawal of the application from 1st August, 2020 to 8th August, 2020. This Court can take judicial notice of the fact that after a second opportunity was afforded to the candidates for withdrawal of the application, only such of the candidates were left who had made up t....
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....ctober, 2020-4,86,952. Number of last attempt candidates who appeared for Examination 2020 and have not attained age bar for 2021-3863. Number of last attempt candidates who appeared in Examination 2020 and would reach age bar for CSE 2021-2236 - Candidates having last attempt in terms of age bar but did not appear -4237 - Combined effect of last attempt appeared : 3863 + 2236 = 6099 which comes to around 1.25% of candidates who appeared for the examination. - Combined effect of candidates who appeared and non-appeared and who require relaxation for 2021, i.e. total = 3863+2236+4237 = 10,336 which comes to 0.97% of total candidates who enrolled for Examination, 2020. 12. When the present petitioners/intervenors failed to qualify in the preliminary examination held on 4th October, 2020 by the Commission, they approached this Court by filing of the instant writ petition, and this Court took note of the fact that in the light of the order passed in the earlier proceedings dated 30th September, 2020, the decision of the competent authority to fulfil the legitimate aspirations of the candidates was still pending with the authority. During ....
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....diments in the preparation of the Examination 2020 for many aspirants and the Government failed to take any policy decision for the last attemptees before holding Examination 2020 to enable them to take an appropriate/suitable decision and noticing precedence from the earlier policy of 1st respondent to grant an extra attempt to last-attemptees in the event causing widespread hardships left with no choice except to appear in the examination even though they did not have an adequate opportunity and infrastructure and they were left out blinded with uncertainty. 14. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that petitioners are placed in the disadvantageous position with the onset of the pandemic and due to the unprecedented measures imposed in the wake thereof. That apart, candidates working in essential services did not have the benefit of seeking leave or claiming exemption from duty/overtime duty looking to the nature of their services and in the light of invocation of The Essential Services Maintenance Act, 1968 and The Disaster Management Act, 2005. There is no benefit accruing to persons in essential services and public employment, consequent to the unlock guidelines. ....
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....rier disqualifying to appear in CSE 2021. 18. Learned counsel for intervenors further submits that the candidates who appeared in Examination 2020 by and large are affected because of unprecedented pandemic and they were unable to prepare themselves to appear in the examination due to various impediments which came in front of them of which adequate reasons have been furnished to this Court. In the given circumstances, at least taking a lenient and a holistic view of the matter, this Court may exercise its jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution granting one time relaxation to the candidates who appeared in Examination 2020 with one additional attempt regardless of the fact whether one has exhausted the number of attempts or crossed the upper age limit as prescribed under the Rules 2020 and it does not affect either the integrity of the examination or any restriction on the prospective participants of CSE 2021 and to those who have already availed the attempts. All hopes of the candidates remain in the last attempt but that had gone in vain because of the unprecedented situation which came in front of them and that was the only reason for which they have not been able....
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....sideration of giving an additional attempt to only last attemptees would be discriminatory. At the same time, such of the successful candidates can also complain but for Covid-19, their rankings in the list of successful candidates would have been much higher, therefore, they should also be given an additional chance. Similar reasoning would apply as far as the upper age is concerned and so far as the submissions made by learned counsel for the petitioners are concerned, these are without prejudice to the main contention that they are not entitled for relaxation as prayed for. 21. It has been further stated that the first national lockdown came into force on 25th March, 2020, i.e., after one and a half month of the notice of examination published on 12th February 2020. From 1st June, 2020, gradual unlocking of the lockdown had started on monthly basis and the preliminary examination was held on 4th October, 2020 when the unlock guidelines 5.0 were in force. To meet out the bone of contention of the petitioners that there are precedents for granting relaxation on earlier occasions is concerned, it has been stated that these are the policy decisions taken by the executive in a par....
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....re adopted in holding the examinations/recruitment tests of various Central Services during the said period and indulgence which has been prayed for by the petitioners appeared in Examination 2020, in the given circumstances, of which the details have been furnished need no further indulgence by this Court. Analysis 25. We have heard Mr. Shyam Divan, learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioners; Mr. S.V. Raju, learned Additional Solicitor General and Mr. Naresh Kaushik, learned counsel appearing for the respondents; Mr. P.V. Narasimha and Mr. Pallav Shishodia, learned senior counsel appearing for the intervenors and with their assistance perused the material available on record. "The question that emerges for our consideration is that whether the petitioners/intervenors and other similarly placed candidates are entitled to another/additional chance for CSE 2021 on account of the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic which as alleged has deprived them from effectively participating in the Examination 2020". 26. There is no doubt that for India or for rest of the world, Covid-19 has been a disaster of unprecedented proportions. The crisis of Covid-19 pandemic has ....
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....). Instituted and publicized by the Central Government under the Disaster Management Act 2005, these lockdowns varied in scope and nature, depending on the situation on the ground. 30. Despite that Covid-19 pandemic has affected the livelihood of the common man at all levels, be it a level of education system, from preschool to tertiary education. Different countries introduced various policies in meeting out the widespread socioeconomic implications but the Covid-19 pandemic has left its footprints for us to learn from the unprecedented situation, which everyone has come across and suddenly changed the lifestyle of every individual in the society, his way of working, from social security to individual human rights, from macro economy to household income and has made us more stronger to face, if any difficult situation arises in future and this is what by experience we learn. There is an old saying "there is good in every evil". Still life has to move on in all situations, and this is what this country has faced, but resiliently fought back this unprecedented situation and the economy and life of the common man is on the path towards normalcy in a short period of time than expec....
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....ven situation, after the application form was filled, the candidates who wanted to withdraw their application form at the later stage because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the commission took a policy decision to open the window for the second time, which in the ordinary course is not available under the scheme of rules, for the candidates who intended to withdraw their application from 1st August, 2020 to 8th August, 2020. Since the examination was scheduled for 4th October, 2020 only those candidates were left who were mentally prepared to appear and willing to avail an opportunity of appearing in the Examination 2020 and after appearing in the examination, when they could not qualify, it has given a way to the present litigation on the specious ground of Covid-19 pandemic that they were unable to effectively participate in the process of selection which has been initiated by the Commission in holding preliminary examination on 4th October, 2020. 35. This court cannot lose sight of the fact that apart from the present Examination 2020, it has been brought to the notice of this Court that remedial measures were adopted for the candidates who had participated in the various examinat....
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....4 of the Constitution. 38. We do find substance in what being urged by learned counsel for the petitioners inter se in questioning the decision placed by 1st respondent for our consideration. If an additional attempt remains restricted to the last attemptees for the reason that they had suffered during Covid 19 pandemic, all attemptees irrespective of the nature of attempt (i.e. 1st, 2nd etc.) who appeared in Examination 2020 must have faced the same consequences as being faced by the writ petitioners and each one of them have suffered in one way or the other during the Covid-19 pandemic. At the same time, this reasoning would equally apply to those who have crossed the upper age barrier. More so, when no discretion is left with the 1st respondent to grant relaxation in the age bracket to the candidates other than provided under Rule 6 of the scheme of Rules 2020 which indeed the present petitioners are not entitled to claim as a matter of right and that apart, those who have withdrawn their forms either because of lack of preparation or because of some personal reasons but have crossed the upper age limit to appear in CSE 2021, they would also be equally entitled to claim and n....
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.... Examination 2011, in the given circumstances, the 1st respondent in its wisdom considered it appropriate to grant one more attempt in Civil Service Examination, 2015 to such candidates who appeared in Civil Service Examination, 2011 either due to reaching upper age limit or due to exhausting of number of attempts and that was the given situation which prevailed upon the 1st respondent in taking a policy decision in granting permission but that cannot be made to be the basis or a foundation for the petitioners to site as a precedent in claiming to seek one additional attempt as a matter of right which is not permissible under the scheme of Rules 2020 or with the aid of Article 14 of the Constitution to take a call in meeting out the difficulties which have been faced as alleged in the given circumstance. 43. It is the settled principle of law that policy decisions are open for judicial review by this Court for a very limited purpose and this Court can interfere into the realm of public policy so framed if it is either absolutely capricious, totally arbitrary or not informed of reasons and has been considered by this Court in Union of India and Others Vs. M. Selvakumar and Anothe....