August 1 cut-off date for UPSC age limit unfair: CJI to aspirants

Family members of candidates wait outside the examination center during the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Preliminary Examination on June 16, 2024 in New Delhi. Photo Courtesy: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

At least 15 civil services exam candidates have written a separate letter to Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna saying that the rules which set August 1 as the cut-off date for determining the maximum age eligibility are denying equal opportunity and discriminatory.

For example, the maximum age limit for civil services examination was 32 for general category candidates. Although the preliminary examinations were usually scheduled in May, the age limit was calculated to be 32 years on August 1. General category candidates should not have completed 32 years as on 1st August.

The letters written by Bandi Shivagopal, Deepak Azad and MD Kurup last week alleged that the upper age limit cut-off date of August 1 discriminated between candidates born in the same year but with a gap of a few months or days.

As for the general category candidates, they argue that a person who turned 32 on July 31 will be ineligible to apply for the exam while his counterpart whose 32nd birthday falls on any day after August 1 of the same year.

“I request your immediate and decisive intervention to shift the age qualification cut-off to January 1, as practiced in other government recruitment processes, to ensure fairness and equal opportunity to all candidates irrespective of their month of birth,” Mr. Shivagopal wrote.

In the letter written by Yash Sharma to the Supreme Court, it has been argued that the cut-off date of August 1 for calculating the maximum age limit is a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution. “The policy restricts the aspirants’ ability to pursue their chosen profession, undermining their right to life and dignity,” he said.

A letter written by Manisha Dey stated that the policy violated Article 16 (Equality of Opportunity in Public Employment), “depriving these aspirants of equal opportunity to serve the nation and violating their fundamental rights”.

“Candidates born on July 31 are considered ineligible, even if they are the age of a person born a day later. Such a technicality creates an unfair system that penalizes candidates, ignoring their merit, preparation and aptitude. Many of these aspirants are experienced professionals, whose Valuable skills contribute significantly to public services,” Krishna Reddy submitted in his letter.

However, the papers revealed that the petition in this case was earlier dismissed in the Supreme Court in October 2024.