Supreme Court voids 15-year age relaxation for govt jobs in Sindh

The Supreme Court has annulled the 15-year age relaxation previously granted in the upper age limit for applicants seeking government jobs in Sindh. 

The 15-year age relaxation had been initially authorised under Addendum PSC/EXAM: (C.S)/2020/123, issued on September 8, 2020, which applied a general age relaxation for various government vacancies in Sindh.

The SC ruling excludes positions within the Police Service and those filled through the Combined Competitive Examination by the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC). 

This decision impacts all other government departments in Sindh, where the upper age relaxation limit will revert to a maximum of 10 years.

Following the judgment, the SPSC has been directed to re-advertise the position of Assistant Conservator Forests (BPS-17) and allow all qualified candidates to participate, as initially directed by the High Court. 

Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, who authored the judgment, highlighted that the Sindh Civil Servant (Appointment, Promotion, and Transfer) Rules, 1974 (APT Rules) had been amended to extend the maximum age relaxation to 15 years, retroactively covering the period from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2022. 

The court noted that this extensive relaxation conflicted with the established rules, stating that the Government of Sindh could only grant age exemptions at its discretion through a specific order, either for individual cases or collectively, as stipulated under Regulation 0612 of the 2006 Regulations.

In court, the Sindh chief secretary acknowledged the discrepancy in policy but defended it, citing a lack of significant government recruitment over the past decade as justification for the extended age limit. 

However, the Supreme Court found this reasoning flawed, and emphasized that the absence of recruitment did not justify granting age relaxations that surpassed logical boundaries.

The judgment further clarified that discretionary powers in administrative law must be exercised within the confines of established rules and regulations, rather than subjective decisions.