RANCHI, India, April 3 -- Jharkhand High Court issued the following order on Feb. 27:

1. This petition has been presented today on mentioning before this Court as the learned counsel for the petitioner prays that this case is very urgent. Considering the submission of the petitioner, this Court directed the office to register this case and list this case immediately by notifying. Thus, this case has been notified without stamp reporting.

2. By way of filing this writ petition, the petitioner has sought for fixing the cut-off date for calculation of upper age limit (General Category) to be 01.08.2018 by substituting the same in the Advertisement No. 01 of 2026 dated 29.01.2026.

3. It is the case of the petitioner that Advertisement No. 01 of 2026 dated 29.01.2026 was issued by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) for appointment to various Group-A posts. As per the advertisement, the cut-off for calculating age limit has been fixed as 01.08.2026. As the examination was not conducted every year between 2021 and 2025, the petitioner wants cut-off date to be set as 01.08.2018 for calculation of age.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that as per the Examination Rules, the Commission is required to conduct the examination every year, but it failed to do so, causing loss of opportunity to eligible candidates. He further submits that it is reasonable and just that the cut-off date for the present advertisement should be extended in line with the previous relaxation granted. He further submitted that earlier, similarly situated candidates have already been granted interim relief by the Court, thus, the petitioner is entitled to the same protection.

5. Learned counsel for the respondents submits that Advertisement has been issued strictly in accordance with the Jharkhand Combined Civil Services Examination Rules, 2021. He further submits that the petitioner cannot claim age relaxation, as a matter of right. He further submitted that the cut-off date cannot be extended to 01.08.2018 merely because some relaxations were granted in earlier examinations under different circumstances and the same cannot be on mere asking of some candidate. The respondents have acted uniformly and applied the same cut-off date to all candidates under the Advertisement No.01 of 2026 dated 29.01.2026. The petitioner, having crossed the prescribed age limit as per the applicable rules, cannot seek judicial intervention. He lastly submits that after the advertisement was published, the State Government took a decision to give relaxation in upper age limit and now has fixed 01.08.2022 as cut-off date. Thus, now as per the revision the cut-off date is 2022 not 2026.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/ecourtindiaHC/cases/display_pdf.php?filename=I1mmm2bl4r4EREhYK63Kv8teuv4q5CgvTdSdOdElmsUHEgRdSlrSdoHx6wWHbWGX&caseno=WPC/1514/2026&cCode=1&cino=JHHC010074942026&state_code=7&appFlag=)

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.