Delhi High Court accepts Manipur's stand to not provide transportation to candidates for UPSC exam

The Manipur government told the Delhi High Court on Thursday that it will not arrange for transportation facility to take students from hill districts to UPSC Civil Services Exam centres which are outside the State [Zomi Students Federation v Union Public Service Commission & Ors]..Manipur government said that vehicles transporting a bunch of students could be a potential target and it would be a safer option for the students to arrange for transport and accommodation on their own and the government will provide reimbursement. The submissions were made in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by an organisation, Zomi Students Federation, seeking directions to the government to provide facilities and security arrangements to candidates to travel to UPSC exam centres outside the State. A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora accepted the arguments made by the State. The Court noted that the State government will give financial assistance to the students of the hill districts of Manipur who had earlier opted for Imphal as their exam centre but now want to go outside the state for exams.“Transporting 30-40 students together in a convoy will create a security situation. We will provide monetary assistance to students who are opting for centres outside the state,” Manipur government’s counsel told the Bench.The Court accepted the submission and observed that considering the security situation in the hill State, the government's assessment of the security situation should be appreciated.“Let us be clear on this, the State as custodian will have to take a decision and we will have to have some confidence in the State. We must accept their call on security measures. Let us not superimpose our judgement on it. Let us leave it to people on the ground. They know when one becomes a target. They will provide you assistance and I think that should be enough,” the Court remarked..Manipur tells Delhi High Court not possible to hold Civil Services Exams this year.The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) told the Court on Thursday that candidates from the hill districts of Manipur who opted for Imphal as examination centres will be given the option to choose Aizawl, Kohima, Dispur, Jorhat, Kolkata, and Delhi as their exam centres and the UPSC portal will be reopened from April 8 to April 19 for this purpose.UPSC also assured the Court that it will share the details like application number, mobile number and email ids of the candidates from the hill districts of the State with the Manipur government.The Court was then shown a letter by Manipur Chief Secretary stating that the State will provide monetary assistance to the candidates.The Manipur government said that if the students were to be transported by the government and with a convoy, it would be a security risk and the students should, therefore, arrange the transportation and accommodation on their own.The Bench accepted the stand and disposed of the PIL."It is clarified that the Petitioner Federation shall be at liberty to approach this Court for variation/ modification/ clarification of the present order by filing an appropriate application," the Court added..Advocates Mohd Nizamuddin Pasha, Sidharth Kaushik, John Simte, Aaayushi Mishra and Rum Hang Thang Shoute appeared for the petitioner organisation.Advocates Ravinder Agarwal and Lekh Raj Singh represented UPSC.Union of India was represented through Central Government Standing Counsel Apoorv Kurup as well as advocates Gurjas Singh Narual, Nidhi Mittal, Akhil Hasija, Gauri Goburdhan and Aanchal Dubey.State of Manipur was represented through Advocates Pukhrambam Ramesh Kumar, Piyush Beriwal and Nikhil Kumar Chaubey..[Read Judgment]