The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has granted interim relief to candidates exceeding the age limit for the JK Police Constable Recruitment Examination, directing the Jammu & Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) to provisionally consider their candidature.
The petitioners, represented by Advocate Rameshwar Singh Jamwal and led by Deepak Sharma and 78 others, had challenged the age restrictions imposed on the 4002 constable posts, arguing that the extended delay in the recruitment process, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, unfairly barred them from applying for the positions.
In the interim order, a copy of which lies with Kashmir Dot Com, a single bench of Justice M. A. Chowdhary of the High Court’s Jammu wing directed that the petitioners be allowed to sit for the upcoming examination, along with other candidates. The court, however, clarified that their participation in the examination would not grant them any preferential treatment, and any potential appointment would be subject to the outcome of the ongoing petition.
The petitioners had argued that the delay of over eight years in the recruitment process had led to many candidates becoming overage, and there had been no relaxation provided for them despite the extraordinary circumstances. They pointed to the fact that other departments had granted age relaxations in similar situations, such as for Sub-Inspectors and Constables in Ladakh UT.
Pertinently, the JKSSB had already scheduled the written examination for Armed/IRP/Executive/SDRF category candidates on 1st December 2024, with admit cards uploaded for candidates. The exams for the JKP Constable Telecommunications and JKP Constable (Photographer) posts were scheduled for 8th December and 22nd December, respectively.
As per the data available, 1,49,294 candidates from Jammu Division and 1,13,569 candidates from Kashmir Division have applied for the Armed/IRP/SDRF/Executive JKP Constable posts. Meanwhile, 98,817 candidates from Jammu Division and 68,792 candidates from Kashmir Division have applied for the JKP Constable Telecommunications posts. For the JKP Constable (Photographer) category, 76,373 candidates from Jammu Division and 52,290 candidates from Kashmir Division have submitted applications.
The decision to provisionally consider the candidature of those exceeding the age limit came just 48 hours before the commencement of the examination. The next hearing of the petition has been scheduled for 21st February 2025. (KDC)
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