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An application for impleadment has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking one time age relaxation to all the candidates who would be age barred from taking the Civil Service Examinations after 2020.

The application filed by nine Civil Service aspirants through Advocate Malvika Kapila have sought relaxation in the Civil Service Examination Rules 2021, thereby allowing them to appear for and take the Civil Services Examination 2021.

The application has been filed for impleadment in the case titled Abhishek Anand Sinha and others vs Union of India and others.

The case of the Applicants is that their last attempt to appear for the Civil Service Examination on ground of becoming age barred was in 2020. The Applicants appeared for the examination on October 4, 2020 "despite lack of preparation and under emergent circumstances, since it was their final attempt in terms of age".

The Applicants have submitted that in 2020, the UPSC had taken a decision  to give a one-time restricted relaxation, to only those candidates who appeared in CSE 2020 as their last permissible attempt and were otherwise not age-barred.

However, it was further decided that no relaxation would be given to the candidates who had not exhausted their permissible number of attempts or to those candidates who were otherwise age-barred from appearing in CSE 2021.

Thereafter on February 24, 2021, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking an extra attempt by those candidates who had appeared in the preliminary examination. However, before parting with the judgment, this Court made it clear that the said decision would not restrict the executive in exercising its discretion if the situation so calls for in the future.

On March 4, 2021 the UPSC had notified the rules for Civil Services Examination 2021 and have chosen to not relax the age-eligibility criteria for the examination in the current year. Pursuant thereto, certain candidates, who did not appear in the Examination2020, filed the instant petition impugning the aforesaid rules and the Examination Notice.

The Applicants have submitted that they are aggrieved by the Rules in as much as they have failed to provide any age relaxation and/or an additional attempt to candidates who crossed their upper age limit in the year 2020.

The Applicants have further submitted that they are not seeking to set aside the very conduct of the exams, but are only praying that in view of the extra -ordinary, force majeure like situation, which was beyond the control of any of the candidates one extra/additional attempt may be provided to them for appearing in the subject examinations.

"It is very well known that for any competitive examination, particularly the Civil Services Examination, of such nature and seriousness, requires rigorous preparation, especially during the months immediately preceding the date of the examination, irrespective of availability of sufficient time for preparation beforehand. It also needs to be stressed here that the measures related to curbing the Covid 19 pandemic and the uncertainty attached to it, had immense negative ramifications on the mental health of the candidates. It was in these circumstances, coupled with lack of proper infrastructure, poor preparation, lack of study materials, that the Applicants appeared for their final attempt at fulfilling their dreams of becoming a Civil Servant", states the plea.

The matter is listed for hearing on July 19 before the bench comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and Sanjiv Khanna.