In a significant development, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh at Jammu has granted interim relief to petitioners in the case concerning age relaxation for the recruitment of constables. The petition, filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, challenges Advertisement Notification No. 01 of 2024 issued by the Jammu & Kashmir Service Selection Board (JKSSB) for 4,002 constable posts.
The petitioners, represented by Advocate Rameshwar Singh Jamwal, argued that they were unfairly excluded from applying for the recruitment process due to being overage. They attributed this to an eight-year delay in the recruitment process caused by administrative inaction, COVID-19 disruptions, and other supervening factors.
The petitioners, who range from matriculates to post-graduates, cited previous instances of age relaxation, including the relaxation of the maximum age for sub-inspectors from 30 to 32 years via S.O. No. 420 dated December 10, 2021, and for constables in Ladakh from 28 to 30 years under S.O. No. 62 dated November 24, 2022.
The petitioners requested a three-year relaxation in the maximum age limit and sought interim relief to participate in the recruitment test scheduled for December 1, 2024.
Hon’ble Justice M.A. Chowdhary, presiding over the matter, directed the respondents to provisionally allow the petitioners to appear for the recruitment test, irrespective of their age. The court clarified that participation in the test would not automatically entitle the petitioners to appointment, which would remain subject to the final outcome of the case.
