UPSC Extra Chance For Last Attempt Candidates : Supreme Court Reserves Judgment [LIVE UPDATES]

ASG SV Raju now commences his submissions.

“It is not in the domain of an inquiry by the Court whether a policy is required or not. This is all a matter of policy”.

Surana: We appeared in the 2020 interview, but our written examination was in 2019.

Surana: We were supposed to be interviewed in March, but because of lockdown, we were interviewed in July. Out of 6, 5 have not succeeded, 1 has. Our grievance is that there was an advantage to the ones who appeared in March. 

Bench: Interview is not about looks.

Surana: No, that’s not the issue. It’s that expression and personality is a big factor.

Bench: Then everyone will be placed at the same disadvantage. 

Surana: We were at a disadvantage because we were wearing a face mask and face shield. The main problem is that the interview is about a personality, but this created a difficulty. 

Adv. Dr. Harsh Surana makes submissions now. He submits that he is focusing on the interviews - a few interviews were conducted in Feb-March and others were conducted during the lockdown which inherently created a disadvantage. 

Chatterjee: The class of candidates who suffer from comorbidities have a legitimate expectation to be able to give the exam. 

Chatterjee: The intervenor before your Lordships is a candidate with a comorbidity. On one hand, there are circulars that advise him to not move out of his house, and on the other hand, he’s asked to travel out for his exam. I co-opt the submissions of others.

Adv. Aditya Chatterjee seeks a minute to put forth submissions on behalf of an intervenor.

Narasimha: It’s like saying that you didn’t risk your life, so you lost the chance.