Sindh govt given a week to decide on age relaxation for BPS-17 appointments

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has given the provincial government a week to decide on a summary for relaxing the upper age limit for BPS-17 assistant engineer appointments.

The Hyderabad circuit bench also ordered on Wednesday the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) to allow the petitioner to participate in the exam.

The SPSC on April 5, 2019, announced 60 assistant engineer posts, with the upper age limit for candidates fixed at 30 years. However, on July 13, a second ad was published, changing the upper age limit to 28 years.

The petitioner challenged the retrospective age reduction, arguing that it had disqualified him. His counsel maintained that it was a violation of the law and his rights.

The additional advocate general, however, contended that the government had the right to make and amend rules to improve service efficiency. "This court has no jurisdiction to interfere," he added.

SPSC secretary Javed Mahar informed the court that the SPSC had requested to keep the age limit at 30 years in a letter in February, pointing out that a reduction could entail unnecessary litigation. On this letter's basis, a summary was moved to the Sindh chief minister on July 28, requesting him to relax the age limit to 30 years.

"In our view, the candidates cannot be deprived of their right for applying...by making any subsequent amendment in the rules or policy," the court remarked while disposing of the petition.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 21^st, 2020.