CAT seeks action taken report on CM’s letter over JKAS examination

Srinagar, Dec 17: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in Srinagar on Wednesday sought “action taken report” from the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s communication over postponing the Combined Competitive (Preliminary) Examination (CCE) recently.

A division bench of Justice Ritu Tagore, Member (J) and Prasant Kumar Member (A) sought the report from the JKPSC within 10 days in response to a plea by an aggrieved candidate, who has also annexed the Chief Minister’s letter with his petition.

The JKPSC went ahead with the CCE on December 7, notwithstanding Omar’s call to postpone who had cited a dispute over age relaxation and large-scale flight cancellations.

While seeking a response to the plea, the tribunal also sought details about the number of candidates who were unable to appear in the examination due to flight cancellations and delays on the date.

In his plea, an aggrieved candidate, through his counsel Asifa Rashid Padder, claimed that he could not reach the examination centre on time due to “unprecedented nationwide flight cancellations and delays.”

The aggrieved candidate has annexed the Chief Minister’s letter with his plea, which, inter alia, refers to the disruption in air services, “compounded by the prevailing uncertainty caused by the delay in the proposal for age relaxation.”

Omar, in his letter, had expressed optimism that the JKPSC would take a “compassionate and balanced view of the matter in the larger public interest, keeping in mind the principles of fairness, equity and equal opportunity for all aspirants.

Hundreds of candidates were barred from appearing in the JKPSC preliminary examination after crossing the prescribed age limit, as the administration failed to clear the age-relaxation proposal forwarded by the Omar Abdullah–led Cabinet on December 2.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha stated on social media that he returned the Chief Minister’s file on the same day, December 2, seeking clarification on whether the examination could be conducted as scheduled if the upper age limit was relaxed, but received no follow-up from the government.