The Hindu : National : Age limit relaxation only for the deserving: court

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Thursday, Oct 26, 2006
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Age limit relaxation only for the deserving: court

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi: Relaxation of age limit for general categories or even for SC and ST candidates or retrenched Central Government employees, including defence personnel, is not automatic, the Supreme Court has held.

"The appointing authorities are required to apply their mind while exercising discretionary jurisdiction to relax the age limit. Discretion is required to be exercised only for deserving candidates and on the recommendations of the Appointing Committee/ Selection Committee," said a Bench consisting of Justices S.B. Sinha and Dalveer Bhandari.

Writing the judgment, Justice Sinha said "the power of relaxation is required to be exercised in the public interest in a given case; as for example, if other suitable candidates are not available for the post and the only candidate who is suitable has crossed the maximum age limit; or to mitigate hardship in a given case. Such a relaxation in special circumstance is to be exercised by the administration after referring that case to the [State] Public Service Commission."

Wholesale relaxation ``might be unfair to a large number of candidates who might be similarly situated but who may not apply, thinking that they are age-barred," the Bench said.

In the instant case, the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan was aggrieved by a Gauhati High Court order directing it to relax the age limit for certain general category candidates, who were allowed to sit for a written and typing examination, for the post of lower division clerk.

Allowing the appeal, the Bench set aside the judgment.

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