SC gives UPSC one week to submit affidavit on screen-reader use for visually impaired candidates

The Supreme Court on Feb 16 allowed the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) one week to submit a detailed compliance affidavit on the use of screen-reader software for visually impaired candidates.

The direction follows the Court’s Dec 3, 2025, order, which required UPSC to permit eligible candidates to request a scribe change at least seven days before examinations.

The affidavit must outline the plan, timeline, and procedures for deploying the software, including testing, standardization, and validation at all examination centers or designated locations.

During the Feb 16 hearing, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was told, “We are completely complying with it. We just require a period of one week to place the compliance affidavit on record.” The Court granted the one-week extension and listed the matter for Feb 23.

The case was initiated by Mission Accessibility, an organization promoting the rights of differently abled individuals.

The petition had sought revisions to scribe registration timelines and permission for candidates to use laptops with screen-reader software and accessible digital question papers.

The Court had earlier stressed that the rights of differently-abled persons are constitutional guarantees of equality, dignity, and non-discrimination.

UPSC was also directed to work with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities and the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities to create standardized protocols for assistive technologies, ensuring security and accessibility in examinations.