Keywords – UPSC, Delhi High Court, CAT, Aspirants’ plea, CSAT .
Delhi High Court Urges CAT to Expedite Plea on UPSC CSAT Paper Cut-off Reduction
The Delhi High Court has requested the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) to promptly decide on a plea filed by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) candidates seeking a reduction in the cut-off marks for the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) paper from 33% to 23%.
A bench comprising Justices C Hari Shankar and Manoj Jain made the request while hearing a petition filed by a group of civil services aspirants challenging the CAT’s refusal to issue any interim orders on their plea.
The bench clarified that it would not halt the recruitment process and emphasized that the petitioners’ only contention was the difficulty level of the questions.
Justice Hari Shankar pointed out that the Supreme Court has issued several judgments stating that courts should not interfere with recruitment processes, and that the balance of convenience is never in favor of staying the results.
The petitioners’ advocate, Saket Jain, argued that their claim was not about difficult questions, but rather about questions that were outside the syllabus.
Jain claimed that the UPSC had acted arbitrarily, adversely affecting the aspirations of thousands of students.
However, the bench noted that the CAT had not dismissed their plea and cautioned that any adverse observations from the court could impact the petitioners’ case before the tribunal.
It directed Jain to present his arguments before the CAT.”The learned CAT is requested to decide the Original Application (OA) as expeditiously as possible in accordance with the principles of natural justice. With these observations, the petition stands disposed of,” concluded the court’s order.
According to the plea, the UPSC’s CSAT paper this year contained questions that were beyond the prescribed syllabus, including those from the IIT JEE Advanced and CAT examinations.
The petition highlighted that the UPSC syllabus mandates candidates to prepare basic mathematics, numeracy, and data interpretation at the Class X level. However, the paper presented by the UPSC had difficulty levels similar to the CAT and IIT JEE exams, making it challenging for candidates with only basic mathematics knowledge to clear.
Furthermore, the petition argued that the CSAT Paper II also discriminates against candidates from non-technical backgrounds, such as arts/humanities, and those who cannot afford specialized coaching.
Earlier, the candidates had approached the CAT with their plea. On June 9, the tribunal refused to stay the exam results and issued notice to the UPSC.
Written by- Anjali Sudha, College name – Haridev law college, Kashipur. Semester- 6th sem an intern under Legal Vidhiya
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