J&K PSC Holds Recruitment Exam Despite Abdullah's Objections Over Age Relaxation, IndiGo Crisis

Srinagar: Despite chief minister Omar Abdullah's objection, the Public Service Commission (PSC) on Sunday (December 7) conducted the Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) that paves the way for job aspirants to enter the elite Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS).

The commission, which functions under J&K’s lieutenant governor, turned down Abdullah’s suggestion to postpone the exam amid the unresolved issues of a one-time age-relaxation sought by some student bodies in J&K and the travel chaos triggered by IndiGo airlines.

The issue has once again exposed the fault-lines in the administrative structure of the Union territory of J&K, where the offices of lieutenant governor and chief minister have been caught in a power struggle since the popular government took office in October last year.

A day before the exam was scheduled to be held, the chief minister wrote to PSC chairman Arun Kumar Choudhary on Saturday, saying that the issues of age-relaxation and air travel disruption had caused “unprecedented mental and logistical stress” to aspirants.

“Keeping in mind the principles of fairness, equity and equal opportunity for all aspirants, I would urge the Commission to take cognisance of the prevailing circumstances and consider postponement of the forthcoming examination by a reasonable duration, purely in the interest of the candidates,” he wrote.

The commission had fixed 32 years as the upper age limit for open merit candidates, 34 years for reserved and in-service candidates and 35 years for physically challenged persons, while the Abdullah-led government had sought 35 years, 37 years and 38 years for the respective categories of candidates.

Following protests by CCE aspirants in parts of J&K, the elected government formally wrote to lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha’s office regarding the issue of age relaxation on December 2.

Abdullah’s advisor Nasir Aslam Wani said: “The elected government favours relaxing the upper age limit and we have sent the file to the Lok Bhawan in this regard. Till the process is completed, the JKPSC should defer the examination.”

However, in a post on X, Sinha said on Saturday that the “file related to age relaxation” was returned to the government on the same day with a query “whether it was logistically possible to conduct the exam on December 7 by incorporating modifications in the eligibility criteria at such a belated stage”.

“Despite a lapse of 4 days, Lok Bhavan did not receive any response. I fully sympathise with young aspirants. The advertisement notice for the examination was published by the J&K Public Service Commission on August 22, 2025. The exam was notified to be conducted on December 7, 2025, through a notice on November 6, 2025,” the Sinha's office said.

Wani said that the file was returned to the General Administration Department (GAD), which “forwarded it to the Public Service Commission for its opinion”.

The GAD is headed by M. Raju, an officer of the IAS cadre that is controlled by the lieutenant governor's office, in accordance with the J&K Reorganisation Act 2019.

The chief minister’s office also alleged that the lieutenant governor delayed the decision on increasing the upper age limit. Abdullah wrote in his letter to the PSC chief that the government has increased the upper age limit “multiple times in the past”.

The issue has triggered uproar in J&K, with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) blaming the ruling National Conference for jeopardising the career of aspirants by allegedly delaying its intervention in the issue.

A PDP spokesperson said that the age relaxation file was sent to the lieutenant governor’s office by the ruling government three months after the notification was issued for conducting the CCE exam. The PSC issued the notification for the exam on August 22.

On December 3, the commission issued an order identifying the government officers who were tasked with conducting the exam, which started at 10 am on Sunday amid cold conditions across the Kashmir valley.

Till Saturday evening, CCE aspirants were hopeful of a breakthrough on the issue of age relaxation amid the ongoing power tussle between the two highest offices in J&K. Some aspirants had also gone on a hunger strike to press their demands.

Mir Mujeeb, a Kashmiri scholar who is pursuing a doctorate in international relations at Jamia Millia Islamia university, said that he had to travel nonstop for more than 24 hours from the national capital first in a train and later in a private cab due to air travel disruptions in order to write the exam in Srinagar.

“I barely managed to reach the exam centre. I haven’t had even a wink of sleep over the last 24 hours and this is the story of thousands of aspirants who have appeared in the exam,” Mujeeb, a prominent student leader, said, while blaming the ‘power tussle’ in J&K for the crisis.

In the past, the Union territory government led by Abdullah and lieutenant governor Sinha’s office have locked horns over a host of issues, including the transfers of JKAS officers by the Lok Bhawan (formerly Raj Bhawan) despite it being the mandate of the elected government, the appointment of J&K’s advocate general and others.

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