Supreme Court issues new accessibility rules for UPSC exams

The Supreme Court has introduced new measures aimed at improving accessibility in Union Public Service Commission examinations for candidates with disabilities.

The decision, delivered by Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, follows a petition filed by Mission Accessibility that sought fairer exam conditions for persons with disabilities.

The ruling aligns with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities and reinforces the constitutional mandate of equal opportunity.

Under the updated rules, UPSC candidates who need scribes will be allowed to request a change of scribe at least seven days before their examination.

The UPSC must respond to these requests within three working days, a move intended to ease difficulties faced by candidates encountering last-minute issues.

A significant direction relates to visually impaired candidates. The court has ordered the UPSC to prepare and submit a detailed plan within two months for the introduction of screen reader software in its examinations.

The plan must outline timelines, testing procedures, validation steps, and efforts to make screen readers available from the next exam cycle.

To ensure consistency, the court instructed the UPSC to work with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities and the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities to create standardized protocols for screen readers and other assistive tools.

A report highlighted the judgment, emphasizing the need for "concrete planning, inter-agency collaboration, and the establishment of uniform standards."

Government departments, including the Department of Personnel and Training and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, have been directed to extend administrative and technical support.

Coordination with state governments and exam bodies is also expected to ensure efficient execution of the new accessibility measures.

The court stated that these steps must fully support eligible candidates while protecting the confidentiality and fairness of the exam process.

The bench observed that true inclusivity in governance requires not only progressive policies but also effective implementation.

It reiterated that "UPSC's processes shall be transparent, accessible, and sensitive to the needs of every segment of society."

Emphasizing the constitutional vision, the court added, "Equality, in its truest sense, demands not uniformity but the removal of barriers that prevent individuals from standing on equal footing. The rights guaranteed to persons with disabilities are not acts of benevolence but expressions of the constitutional promise of equality, dignity, and non-discrimination enshrined in Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution of India."