Jammu/Srinagar, Dec 7: The Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission on Sunday conducted the Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) as scheduled, with thousands of candidates appearing across exam centres despite widespread flight cancellations and an ongoing controversy over upper age relaxation.
The exam commenced at 10 am, ending days of uncertainty triggered by disagreement between Lok Bhavan and the Omar Abdullah–led elected government on whether to relax the upper age limit and postpone the test. While the government, political parties and aspirants had sought a postponement, Lok Bhavan maintained there would be no delay.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, in a letter to the JKPSC chairman on Saturday, described the situation as “extraordinary,” citing severe flight disruptions and “prevailing uncertainty” due to what he called Lok Bhavan’s “delay” in approving the age relaxation. However, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha refuted the allegation, stating he returned the file the same day—December 2—with a query on whether the exam could still be held on schedule if the upper age limit was revised. He said no follow-up was received from the government.
According to the LG’s post, the JKPSC had issued the CCE advertisement on August 22, scheduling the exam for December 7. The commission had set the maximum age at 32 years for open merit candidates, 34 for reserved or in-service candidates, and 35 for physically challenged aspirants. The government had proposed raising the limits to 35, 37 and 38 years respectively.
Several aspirants said they were unsure until the final hours whether the exam would proceed, as friction between the lieutenant governor’s office and the elected government played out publicly over the age relaxation issue.
