The Madhya Pradesh High Court has made a landmark decision for candidates belonging to the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category, applying for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2025. The court has ordered that EWS candidates should be given a 5-year age relaxation and allowed 9 attempts, similar to other reserved categories. This decision is expected to benefit a large number of EWS candidates who were earlier facing difficulties due to the age limit and limited number of attempts.

The court's decision came after a petition was filed by an EWS candidate, Aditya Narayan Pandey, who argued that EWS candidates should be treated at par with other reserved categories, including Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC). The petitioner contended that EWS candidates should not be compared with general category candidates in terms of eligibility criteria. The Madhya Pradesh High Court agreed with the petitioner's argument and directed the UPSC to accept applications from EWS candidates with the given relaxations.

The court's order stated that the UPSC should accept applications from EWS candidates without considering the current eligibility criteria or age limit. However, the court also made it clear that the final appointment orders for these candidates would be subject to the court's final decision. The UPSC CSE 2025 examination is scheduled to take place on May 25, and the application process is currently underway. The court's decision is expected to provide a significant relief to EWS candidates who were facing difficulties due to the earlier eligibility criteria.

In another related development, the Madhya Pradesh High Court had earlier given a similar decision for EWS candidates applying for the Teacher Selection Exam 2024, providing a 5-year age relaxation. The court's decision was based on the principles of equality and equal opportunities, as enshrined in the Constitution of India. The reservation policy for EWS candidates has been a subject of debate in recent times, with various courts giving different decisions on the matter. However, the Madhya Pradesh High Court's decision is expected to set a precedent for future cases.

Here are the key points of the court's decision: * EWS candidates to get 5-year age relaxation in UPSC CSE 2025 * EWS candidates to get 9 attempts in UPSC CSE 2025 * Final appointment orders to be subject to the court's final decision * The decision is expected to benefit a large number of EWS candidates * The court's decision is based on the principles of equality and equal opportunities