News

Volume 9 Issue 3 - April 15, 2012

O.B.C. candidates with disabilities to get three extra attempts at Civil Services

D.N.I.S. News Network, India: A ruling by a division bench comprising Justice Elipe Dharma Rao and Justice N. Kirubakaran of the Madras High Court has given candidates with disabilities from Other Backward Classes (O.B.C.) category three additional chances to appear for the Union Public Service Commission (U.P.S.C.) examination.

A writ petition, filed by M. Selvakumar, an O.B.C. candidate with disability who had cleared the preliminary exam in all his seven attempts, pointed out that according to a December 2007 notification, U.P.S.C. gave three additional attempts to candidates with disabilities from the general category. However, they failed to extend the same provision to candidates with disabilities from the O.B.C. communities.

Taking note of this discrepancy, Justice Elipe Dharma Rao in the judgement said, “When the number of attempts has been increased from four to seven with respect to candidates with disabilities in the general category, and when there is no restriction with regard to the number of attempts for such candidates in S.C./S.T. category, restricting the number of attempts to seven in respect of candidates with disabilities in the O.B.C. category alone, is in violation of Article 14 (Right to Equality) of the Constitution.”