J&K Civil Services Exam Held Amid Travel Chaos And Dispute Over Age Relaxation

Thousands of candidates arrived at designated examination centres across Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday as the Public Service Commission proceeded with its Combined Competitive Examination, despite calls for postponement following widespread flight cancellations and a dispute over the upper age limit.

The test began at 10 a.m. as planned, ending last-minute uncertainty amid tensions between Lok Bhavan and the Omar Abdullah government over demands to relax the upper age cap.

The elected government, political parties, and aspirants had been urging a postponement, while Lok Bhavan maintained that it would not delay the examination.

Calling the situation extraordinary, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wrote to the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) chairman on Saturday, noting that ongoing disruption to flight services had caused widespread travel chaos and had been "further compounded by the prevailing uncertainty" stemming from Lok Bhavan's "delay" in approving age relaxation for candidates.

However, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha rejected the claim that Lok Bhavan was responsible for any delay.

Sinha stated on social media that he returned the file the same day, on December 2, with a query about whether the examination could still be held on the scheduled date if the upper age limit were relaxed, but said no follow-up was received from the government.

The post added that the JKPSC had issued the examination notification on 22 August, scheduling the test for December 7.

The commission had set a maximum age of 32 years for open merit candidates, 34 years for reserved or in-service candidates, and 35 years for physically challenged individuals.

The government, however, sought to relax the upper age limit to 35 years for open merit, 37 years for reserved or in-service candidates, and 38 years for physically challenged candidates.

"This exam is a dream for a lot of us. We were hopeful the relaxation would come through," said Abhinandani Gupta, a student waiting outside her centre in Jammu.

She said a postponement would have helped those unable to reach the exam, though it would have been a setback for those who had prepared extensively.

Another aspirant, Sahil Mathur, said many students had expected the paper to be deferred, but the JKPSC’s midnight notification confirming the test would proceed as scheduled removed the uncertainty.

He expressed "heart-felt sympathy" for those who could not appear.

"The chief minister had sought age relaxation. What happened later, we don't know. The students were protesting till the last day. The uncertainty caused real hardship," he said.

Many candidates said they were unsure until the final hours whether the exam would go ahead, given the friction between the lieutenant governor’s office and the elected government.