TN Lawyer Moves SC Seeking Permission To Attend District Judge Exam Despite Reduction Of Upper Age Limit For Reserved Categories [Read Petition]

A Tamil Nadu-based advocate has filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court seeking permission to attend the examination for District Judges, during the pendency of his petition in Madras HC challenging the reduction of upper age limit for reserved categories.

The petition challenges the order passed by the Madras High Court on January 13 rejecting his interim prayer to provisionally permit him to participate in the selection process.

The petitioner, N S Sivakumar, states that the upper age limit for reserved categories (BC/ST/SC) for District Judge selection used to be 48 years till December 12, 2019. 

The notification issued on December 12 for filling up of 32 vacancies reduced the upper age limit for reserved categories as 45 years. This was done by amending the Rule 5 (3) of the Tamil Nadu State Judicial Service (Cadre and Recruitment) Rules, 2017.

According to the petitioner, there are no valid reasons for reducing this upper age limit. He also states that no recruitment of DJ had taken place by direct recruitment since 2013. This has resulted in depriving the right of several persons to seek appointment before the cut-off age. 

He also points out that several other states, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab & Haryana etc follow the upper age limit of 48 years for reserved category.

In this backdrop, he had approached the Madras HC challenging the age-reduction. However, the petitioner complains that the HC declined his interim prayer by way of a "non-speaking order".

The last date for submission of applications is January 30.

This has led him to move the SC, saying :

"If the Petitioner is not granted the permission to apply and take up the exam, the writ petitions would become infructuous and the Petitioner would loss his valuable fundamental right, more particularly when the Hon'ble Court has agreed to examine the contentions in the writ petition and has adjourned the matter for completion of pleading". 

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