Supreme Court directs UPSC to operationalise screen‑reader facility and relax scribe timelines to ensure exam accessibility

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta heard a writ petition by Mission Accessibility challenging provisions of the Civil Services Examination, 2025 that required visually impaired candidates to furnish scribe details at the time of application and sought direction to permit use of laptops with screen‑reader software and provision of accessible digital question papers. The Court dealt with both procedural aspects of scribe substitution and the larger question of implementing assistive technology in public examinations.

The Court directed the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to take concrete steps to make its examination framework accessible to candidates with visual disabilities and issued timelines and coordination mandates to ensure implementation. The Bench recognised the UPSC’s in‑principle decision to introduce Screen Reader Software for visually impaired candidates but noted the absence of an operational roadmap and required the Commission to file a comprehensive compliance affidavit within two months. The Court emphasised institutional coordination with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) and the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities (NIEPVD) to formulate uniform guidelines and protocols, and directed that measures must preserve the “sanctity, confidentiality, and fairness of the examination process.” The Court, in its reasoning, observed: “The aforesaid 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 of the Constitution of India, read with the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, is meaningfully implemented, and that the facilitative measures envisaged by respondent No. 2‑UPSC are operationalised in both letter and spirit within the stipulated timeframe.”

Background

The petition was filed by Mission Accessibility seeking (inter alia) a declaration that the requirement to furnish scribe details at the time of online application was arbitrary and violative of Articles 14, 16 and 21, and seeking directions to allow change of scribe nearer the exam date, permit laptops with screen readers, and provide accessible digital question papers. The Court earlier permitted impleadment of the DoPT and directed the UPSC to consider change‑of‑scribe requests on merit. On 9 May 2025 the Court required that change‑of‑scribe applications be entertained until 18 May, 2025 and be decided by reasoned order within three working days.

UPSC filed an affidavit recording that it had received multiple change‑of‑scribe requests and, by a later affidavit dated 12 September 2025, stated that it had resolved in principle to introduce screen‑reader facilities but lacked the current infrastructure and logistical readiness. Counsel for the petitioner accepted the in‑principle decision but pressed for a concrete implementation plan and timeline. The Court noted that while the policy decision advanced accessibility rights, “the facility of Screen Reader Software shall be made operational and available to eligible candidates from the next examination cycle, after due testing and standardisation,” and observed that “rights guaranteed to persons with disabilities are not acts of benevolence, but expressions of the constitutional promise of equality, dignity, and non‑discrimination.”

The Bench therefore issued binding directions: (i) UPSC must allow eligible candidates to request change of scribe up to at least seven days before an examination and decide such requests by reasoned order within three working days of receipt; (ii) UPSC must file a comprehensive compliance affidavit within two months detailing plan, timeline, testing, standardisation and modalities for deploying Screen Reader Software and making question papers available in accessible digital formats; (iii) UPSC shall coordinate with DEPwD and NIEPVD to frame uniform guidelines and protocols; and (iv) the Union (DoPT and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment) shall extend necessary administrative and technical support and facilitate coordination with States and examination authorities. The petition was disposed of with the directions and the Court listed the matter for receipt of the compliance affidavit on 16 February 2026.

Case Details: Case No.: Writ Petition (C) No(s). 206 of 2025 (2025 INSC 1376) Case Title: Mission Accessibility v. Union of India & Ors. Appearances: For the Petitioner(s): (counsel not formally listed in judgment extract; Shri Bajaj appeared for petitioners in submissions) For the Respondent(s): Ms. Archana Pathak Dave, Additional Solicitor General (for DoPT/Union); Mr. Hrishikesh Baruah (for UPSC)