The bench gave UPSC a week to file an affidavit of compliance in accordance with its December 3 order and posted the matter for hearing on February 23. File | Photo credit: The Hindu
The Supreme Court on Monday (February 16, 2026) gave the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) a week to file an affidavit on compliance with the proposed action plan, schedule and modalities for deployment and use of screen reading software for visually impaired candidates in examinations conducted by the Commission.
The Supreme Court on December 3, 2025 directed the UPSC to include a provision in the examination notification to allow eligible candidates to request a change of recorder at least seven days before the examination.
The Supreme Court also asked the UPSC to submit a comprehensive affidavit within two months “clearly delineating the proposed action plan, timeline and modalities for deployment and use of screen reading software for visually impaired candidates in the examinations to be conducted”.
The affidavit also specifies the steps proposed for testing, standardization and validation of the software and related infrastructure across all centers or at designated test centers, the court said. The affidavit also states whether it is possible to ensure that the facility is made operational and available to all eligible candidates from the next examination cycle, he added. The matter came up for hearing on Monday (February 16) before Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta.
“We are fully complying with it (instructions). We just need a period of one week to record the affidavit of compliance,” said the counsel for the UPSC office.
The bench gave UPSC a week to file an affidavit of compliance in terms of its December 3 order and posted the matter for hearing on February 23.
In its December 2025 order, the Supreme Court said the rights guaranteed to the differently-abled are not acts of benevolence, but an expression of the constitutional promise of equality, dignity and non-discrimination.
It delivered its verdict on a plea filed by Mission Accessibility, an advocacy group for differently abled individuals, seeking modification of the timeline for registration of typists in the civil services examination conducted by the UPSC.
The plea also sought a direction to allow eligible candidates to use laptops equipped with screen reading software along with accessible digital questions.
In its verdict, the Supreme Court directed that the UPSC “shall ensure that a clear provision is incorporated in every notification of examinations it conducts to enable candidates eligible for scribe to apply for change of scribe at least seven days before the date of examination”.
He said that such requests should be objectively considered and disposed of with a reasoned resolution within three working days of receiving the requests.
The Supreme Court also directed that the UPSC, in coordination with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities and the National Institute for Empowerment of the Visually Impaired, should formulate uniform guidelines and protocols for the use of screen reading software and other assistive technologies to ensure standardization, accessibility and security of the investigation process.
Published – 16 Feb 2026 21:33 IST