HYDERABAD, Aug 15: A division bench of the Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit, comprising Justices Nisar Mohammad Shaikh and Salahuddin Panhwar on Thursday directed the respondent Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) to receive applications of overage candidates, who want to appear in the commission’s examination, as per the previous policy. The bench adjourned the case till Aug 22.

The order was passed on a joint constitutional petition filed by 11 candidates including Saleem Akhtar, Maqbool Ahmed, Niaz Ahmed, Amara Aziz, Dr Noor Ahmed, Abdul Jabbar, Zulfiqar Ali, Mohammad Akram, Qurban Ali, Aftab Ahmed and Mohammad Bux. They were represented by Advocated Noman Sahto.

Referring to the chief minister’s order relaxing candidates’ upper age-limit by 15 years, the petitioners submitted in court that the respondent SPSC chairman in a mala fide move advertised the posts in question in the newspapers recently fixing the last date for submission of applications as Aug 16.

The counsel for the petitioners argued that the respondents had tried to destroy the career of his clients and other candidates as the notification regarding the age relaxation had not been issued to date.

He submitted that in other provinces a similar relief was extended by their respective governments. In Punjab, the combined competitive examination is held every year but in Sindh it is held after five years with the result that hundreds of candidates become overage. He contended that the respondents’ act was in violation of the Article 25 of the constitution.

Additional Advocate General (AAG) Allah Bachayo Soomro vehemently opposed the counsel’s prayer, arguing that this was a policy matter to be decided by government in accordance with law and the same could not be frustrated on petitioners’ request. According to the petitioners, currently the age-limit for appearing in the examination is 21 to 28 years which is not in accordance with universal standard of age for such an examination. For a competitive examination, candidates’ qualification and experience are primary objectives and age is considered secondary.

In many countries, age is not an issue to prove mettle. Previously, the limit used to be 35 years in Sindh. Considering ground realities and disparity among youth, a general age relaxation was announced on Feb 12, 2005 and July 7, 2006. The notification was renewed until June this year.

The petitioners said that although Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah issued another notification on Feb 19, 2008 granting 10-year age relaxation, the same was renewed on Dec 6, 2008 granting 15-year relaxation.

They submitted that appeals to the chief minister, SPSC chairman and other authorities concerned to uphold the notification could not attract attention of respondents. They informed the bench that the notification granting 15-year relaxation had lost validity in June 2013. They submitted that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan had fixed the upper age limit of candidates for such examinations at 35 years. “Since the Sindh government is holding the examination after five years, it must allow age relaxation of five years over and above normal age of 40 years as per respondents’ previous policy and procedure,” they prayed.

They said that the respondents had been granting age relaxation to meritorious youths a number of times while considering poor state of opportunities and sources of earning but the same was being negated in the 2013 SPSC examination.

They prayed the court to direct the respondents to maintain/uphold notification of age relaxation issued on June 30,2012 and allow the petitioners to take the examination.

The bench observed that the matter needed full-fledged hearing and till Aug 22, since the last date for submission of forms would expire on Aug 16, the respondents (SPSC authorities) should receive applications of candidates as per previous policy for the posts in question but issuance of letter for the test and interview to those overage candidates should be subject to a decision of this petition. The process in respect of applications of other candidates should continue in accordance with procedure, it ordered.