SC directs UPSC on change of scribe, screen-reader software for differently-abled candidates

New Delhi: The Supreme Court directed the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Wednesday to incorporate in the notification for examinations a provision allowing eligible candidates to request a change of scribe till at least seven days prior to the test.

The court also asked the UPSC to file within two months a comprehensive compliance affidavit delineating the proposed plan of action, timeline and modalities for the deployment and use of a screen-reader software for visually-impaired candidates in the exams conducted by the commission.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said the rights guaranteed to differently-abled people are not acts of benevolence, but expressions of the constitutional promise of equality, dignity and non-discrimination.

"Before parting, this court deems it appropriate to observe that the true measure of inclusivity in governance lies not merely in the formulation of progressive policies but in their faithful and effective implementation," the bench said.

The top court delivered its verdict on a plea filed by Mission Accessibility, an organisation engaged in the advancement of rights of differently-abled people, seeking a modification in the timeline for scribe registration in the Civil Services Examination conducted by the UPSC.

The plea had also sought a direction to allow the use of laptops equipped with a screen-reader software, along with accessible digital question papers, for eligible candidates.

In its verdict, the bench directed that the UPSC shall "ensure that in every notification for the examinations conducted by it, a clear provision is incorporated permitting candidates eligible for a scribe to request a change of the scribe up to at least seven days prior to the date of the examination".

It said such requests be objectively considered and disposed of by a reasoned order within three working days of the receipt of the applications.

The bench directed the UPSC to file a comprehensive compliance affidavit, "clearly delineating the proposed plan of action, timeline and modalities for the deployment and use of a screen-reader software for visually-impaired candidates in the examinations to be conducted by it".

It said the affidavit shall also specify the steps proposed for the testing, standardisation and validation of the software and related infrastructure across all centres or at the designated examination centres.

The bench said the affidavit shall also indicate the feasibility of ensuring that the said facility is made operational and available to all eligible candidates from the next cycle of examinations.

It directed that the UPSC shall, in coordination with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities and the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities, formulate uniform guidelines and protocols for the use of the screen-reader software and other assistive technologies to ensure standardisation, accessibility and security of the examination process.

It also directed the Centre, through the Department of Personnel and Training and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, to extend all necessary administrative and technical support to the UPSC for an expeditious implementation of these measures.

The bench said the Centre shall also facilitate coordination with the states and the examination authorities, wherever required.

"It is further directed that the implementation of these measures shall be undertaken in a manner that ensures full accessibility to eligible candidates while maintaining the sanctity, confidentiality and fairness of the examination process," the bench said.

It said these directions are being issued to ensure that the constitutional mandate of equality, non-discrimination and the right to live with dignity enshrined under Articles 14 and 21, read with provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, is meaningfully implemented.

The bench said these directions are also being issued so that facilitative measures envisaged by the UPSC are operationalised in both letter and spirit within the stipulated timeframe.

It said being the premier body entrusted with upholding the values of merit and fairness in public recruitment, the commission must ensure that its processes are accessible, transparent and sensitive to the needs of every segment of the society.

"It is therefore imperative that the directions issued herein are carried out with utmost earnestness, sensitivity and expedition, so that the constitutional vision of equal opportunity and meaningful participation of persons with disabilities is not reduced to a distant aspiration, but is realised as a living, enforceable and enduring reality in the conduct of all public examinations in the country," it said.

The bench posted the matter to February 16 next year for receiving the UPSC's compliance affidavit.

It said the measure of a just and inclusive society lies not merely in the freedoms it proclaims, but in the opportunities it ensures for all its citizens to realise their fullest potential.

"Equality, in its truest sense, demands not uniformity but the removal of barriers that prevent individuals from standing on equal footing," it said.

"The law, as an instrument of justice, must therefore move beyond formal equality to ensure substantive inclusion, transforming rights from written promises into lived

realities," the bench said.