Northeast Desk, 18th May: In a significant move, the Supreme Court has directed the Manipur state government to enhance financial assistance for UPSC candidates hailing from disturbed Hill districts in the state. The decision aims to ensure that students can afford to travel to examination centers located outside the state.
The directive comes in response to a Special Leave Petition filed against the Delhi High Court’s order, which had limited travelling and reimbursement facilities to candidates journeying to the exam center in Imphal. The petition argued that the fixed allowance of Rs 1000 per day was inadequate.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra ordered the financial assistance to be increased from Rs 1000 to Rs 3000 per candidate per day. Importantly, this enhancement is not restricted to students opting for the Imphal center but is applicable to any candidate from the disturbed hill area.
In its order, the court specified, “The persons presently residing in the Hill districts and are candidates for the Civil Services exam will be paid Rs 3000 per candidate per day (for 3 days) to enable such candidates to travel to a centre outside the state for the purpose of attending the exam. Any candidate desirous of obtaining the said benefit should indicate to the nodal officer of the state government the place where they are presently staying and the centre to which they have to travel.”
The court also provided contact details/email IDs of nodal officers for candidate assistance.
The decision follows a Public Interest Litigation filed before the Delhi High Court seeking directions to the UPSC to facilitate tribal candidates from hill districts in Manipur to take the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2024, and Indian Forest Service (Preliminary) Examination, 2024 (“CSE– Preliminary”).
The Delhi High Court noted the state’s inability to open exam centers at Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts due to the law and order situation. It allowed financial assistance of Rs. 1000 per day (for 3 days) to cover food and lodging expenses, in addition to covering travel expenses to Imphal for UPSC exam takers.
Advocate Nizam Pasha represented the Petitioner Federation, supported by Advocates John Simte, Sidharth Kaushik, and Awstika Das. The Respondents were represented by Manipur’s Advocate General, Mr. Naorem Kumarjit Singh.
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