The High Court once again refused to ban the Main Examination of the All India Civil Service starting on 8 January. The court, while hearing a petition filed on the issue of reserving fewer seats for the disabled, said that if the petition is accepted, the disabled will be provided relief accordingly.
A division bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh, however, said during the hearing of the case that in deciding the candidates for the Indian Civil Service Main Examination and subsequent interviews, without declaring the actual number of posts in the category of handicapped, a sort of autocracy is.
The court has directed the Central and Union Public Service Commission to clarify on what basis it decided how many posts are in the disabled category.
The bench said that when your vacancies are fluctuating, how many people will you call for main and interview. The court said that calling the candidates for main and interview without deciding the total actual number would be considered an arbitrary decision.
According to the petitioner, the four percent reservation for the legally handicapped is fixed. Out of total of 796 posts, a total of 31.8 posts should be reserved under four percent whereas the institute has declared 24 posts as reserved. This is a mistake in the sheer enumeration.
The court, while hearing the case on 29 January, directed the Central Government and UPSC to clarify their stand on this issue. The court currently refused to grant an interim order in the case.
The petitioner urged the bench to ban the main examination scheduled to be held from January 8 to January 17 or to direct the Center to conduct the examination for persons with disabilities later if the petitions are accepted.
The court refused to pass any interim order on the issue, stating that if the petition was accepted, relief would be granted accordingly.
The petitioner said that seats below the reservation prescribed in the law have been decided on the basis of an estimate, in such a case that an order should be issued to provide proper representation to the Center and UPSC in the disabled category.