Jammu, December 28: On Saturday, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) instructed the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) to permit 241 overage candidates to participate in the recruitment process for sub-inspectors in the police department.
The Jammu bench of the CAT, including Judicial Member Rajinder Singh Dogra and Administrative Member Ram Mohan Johri, emphasized that the results for these candidates should be maintained in a sealed cover until further orders are issued by the tribunal, as explained by Sheikh Shakeel Ahmad, one of the lawyers representing the candidates.
The JKSSB conducted the sub-inspector recruitment examination on March 27, 2022, but the selection list of 1,200 candidates, along with that of 1,300 junior engineers and 1,000 finance account assistants, was annulled by the J&K administration in July due to allegations of paper leaks and malpractices.
The CBI, assigned to investigate the case, submitted a chargesheet against 33 individuals on November 12, 2022.
While addressing the request from the 241 overage unemployed graduates who sought a one-time age relaxation, the CAT Jammu bench ruled that the JKSSB must allow these candidates to engage in the selection process for the posts of sub-inspectors that were advertised last month.
The bench also made it clear that the candidates’ participation would be at their own risk and responsibility, and their results would remain sealed pending further directions from the tribunal.
The applicants’ attorneys argued that public employment serves as a national asset, and all qualified candidates possess a fundamental right to partake in competitive examinations. In this instance, however, the age limit for participation was set at 28 years, resulting in 241 applicants becoming ineligible due to the “inaction of the indenting department (Home Department), as the advertisement was released more than three years post the last selection process,” Ahmad stated.
He also highlighted a 2005 government directive requiring all administrative secretaries in the J&K government to refer vacancies to the J&K Public Service Commission and JKSSB annually by January 15.
Ahmad further noted that the bench was made aware of a prior ruling by the High Court of J&K and Ladakh, which instructed the JKSSB to permit the petitioners to participate in the selection process at their own risk and responsibility.
