Mian Altaf Urges LG, CM to Restore Age Relaxation for JKCCE Aspirants

SRINAGAR: Senior Jammu Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) leader and Member of Parliament, Mian Altaf Ahmad, has called upon Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to address the issue of age relaxation for aspirants of the Jammu Kashmir Combined Competitive Examination (JKCCE).

In a statement issued, Mian Altaf said he had taken up the matter after receiving a representation from JKCCE aspirants demanding parity and fairness in the age criteria. He confirmed that he had written to both the Lieutenant Governor and the Chief Minister, urging them to consider and redress the concerns raised by the candidates.

In his letter, Mian Altaf described the request of open category candidates regarding age relaxation for the JKPSC Combined Competitive Examination 2025 as “genuine,” noting that Jammu and Kashmir is the only Union Territory with an age limit of 21 to 32 years. “I hope you will personally look into the matter and issue necessary instructions,” the letter read.

The aspirants have appealed for the restoration of the five-year age relaxation for open merit candidates in the forthcoming JKAS 2025 examination, which would raise the upper age limit from 32 to 37 years. They said this relaxation, available since 2010 and continued through the 2018 and 2021 examinations, was withdrawn in 2022, excluding many eligible candidates.

They further pointed out that several Indian states, including Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Odisha, have fixed upper age limits for general category candidates between 37 and 44 years—with Odisha recently increasing it from 32 to 42.

Urging prompt action, Mian Altaf requested both the Lieutenant Governor and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to personally intervene to resolve the issue. He also appealed to the Chief Secretary of Jammu Kashmir to examine the demand and take appropriate measures for its redressal.