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SC directs UPSC on change of scribe, screen-reader software for differently-abled candidates
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.
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.
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.
The bench posted the matter to February 16 next year for receiving the UPSC's compliance affidavit.
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