Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has “assured” a group of aspirants on July 3 to look into the demand of aspirants to increase the upper age limit to 37-years for open merit candidates for Combined Competitive Examination (CCE)-2022.
The government has already approved relaxation in the upper-age limit for the candidates earlier and recently the upper-age limit for the candidates was once again relaxed to 35-years to enable them to appear in CCE-2022.
The Lieutenant further announced that a committee under supervision of the Chief Secretary will take up the issue for consideration and redressal.
The assurance comes when the J&K Public Service Commission is all set to conduct the examination for 220 posts of junior scale J&K Administrative Service, J&K Police Service and J&K Accounts Service very soon.
The PSC invited the applications for appearing in examination in accordance with the rules laid down vide SRO-103 of 2018 dated February 23, 2018 and SO 61 of 2021, dated February 23, 2021, issued by General Administration Department and up to date J&K Public Service Commission (Conduct of Examination) Rules.
The rules state that the aspirant must have attained the age of 21 years but not attained the age of 32 years on 1st January of the year in which notification inviting applications is issued by the Commission.
The upper age limit as per rules is 34 years, in case of candidates belonging to Schedule Castes/Schedule Tribes/ RBA/Social Castes/ALC and candidates holding a civil post in the union territory in substantive capacity.
Nevertheless, for “good and sufficient reasons”, the Government may prescribe for any particular examination any other upper age limit for open category and reserved category candidates.
The government needs to use this clause— ‘good and sufficient reasons’—to allow an equal bite at the cherry to the candidates who have surpassed the age bar this year due to disruptions on account of the covid. Not only the pandemic affected commerce, it badly impacted the education sector. True the government allowed a one-time “exemption” last year for the same exam but the contention by many aspirants who now are age barred to appear in the examination should not be brushed aside. Rather it should be considered in a positive manner to allow them one last chance to appear in the examinations. Now that a committee has been formed, it needs to conclude decisions sans delay.
