Looks like the UPSC aspirants who exhausted their last chance in 2020 have no more hopes left. The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea that sought an extra attempt for them, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The petition was heard by Justice AM Rastogi.

The matter was previously heard by a three-judge bench on February 9 and the judgement was reserved. However, the aspirants were hopeful after the centre and the UPSC agreed to allow relaxations. In December 2020, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had said that allowing an extra chance for UPSC aspirants was under active consideration. "It is under active consideration of the Centre. We are not taking an adversarial stand," he then said.

At the same time, in October 2021, the same court had disposed of a plea that sought an extra attempt in the UPSC examination in 2021. The SC had then asked the competent authorities to assuage the grievance of the petitioners. The petition was filed by 24 UPSC aspirants. There was a lot of hue and cry from the aspirants when the exam date was decided in 2020. At that time, the COVID curve in the country had not flattened yet and the lockdown was still in place in a lot of cities.


What does this mean for the JEE (Advanced) aspirants?

Previously, the Supreme Court had adjourned a plea that had adjourned its judgement in a plea where aspirants who exhausted their final chance in JEE (Advanced) in 2020 had asked for an extra attempt. The court had asked them to wait until the court proclaims a judgment on the UPSC issue. However, the chances of an extra JEE (Advanced) attempt looks unlikely.