LG Sinha Clears The Air On JKAS Exam Row, Says Age Relaxation File Returned Same Day

New Delhi: Cutting through speculation and social media chatter, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday sought to set the record straight, clarifying that the age relaxation file for the Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) examination was returned the very day it was received, with a query directed to the Public Service Commission (PSC).

In a post on X, the LG’s office categorically rejected claims of delay, “Social media posts with regard to JKPSC exam are misleading. Lok Bhavan had received the file on 2nd Dec, 2025, which was categorically related to Age Relaxation only. File was returned the same day, 2nd Dec, 2025, with a query whether it is logistically possible to conduct an exam on 7th Dec, by incorporating modifications in the eligibility criteria at such a belated stage. Despite a lapse of 4 days Lok Bhavan did not receive any response. I fully sympathize with young aspirants. The advertisement notice for the examination was published by the J&K Public Service Commission on 22.08.2025. The exam was notified to be conducted on 07.12.2025 through a notice on 06.11.2025.”

By placing the timeline on record, LG Sinha sought to underline that the administration had acted promptly and that responsibility for further action lay with the Commission. His intervention was aimed at countering what he described as “misleading” narratives circulating online and among political opponents.

Hours after the LG’s clarification, the JKPSC Chairman confirmed that the examination would not be postponed. “The JKAS (Prelims) examination will be conducted as scheduled,” he said, ending speculation over deferment.

Earlier, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had formally written to the Commission requesting postponement by a reasonable duration, in the interest of the students. Abdullah cited uncertainty caused by delays in approving age relaxation and travel chaos due to airline disruptions, stressing that aspirants were under “unprecedented stress”.

Meanwhile, People’s Conference (PC) chief Sajad Gani Lone accused the CM of relying on television sound bites instead of issuing written orders. “The JKAS age relaxation issue is turning out yet another classical case of passing the buck at the cost of young aspirants. First, the CM posted, suggesting he had no role in the scuttling of the age relaxation file. And now the LG has suggested that he had sent the file back on 2nd of December. For heaven’s sake, can the CM put something in writing? CM's office cannot be run through TV bytes. What stops him from issuing written orders? Let them defy written orders. If the other side is falsifying facts, let us call their bluff. Every single day we have a moaning CM complaining about his file being turned down. Yet nothing in the form of written communication,” Lone tweeted.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti urged both sides to resolve the matter swiftly, noting that aspirants were “out on the streets in freezing cold asking for basic fairness". CPI(M) leader MY Tarigami also warned that conducting the exam while the age relaxation decision was pending placed candidates at a “clear disadvantage", particularly those stranded due to flight cancellations.

Chief Minister’s advisor Nasir Aslam Wani said that the elected government supported age relaxation and had sent the file to Lok Bhavan earlier this week. He added that the file was returned to the General Administration Department (GAD) with queries and subsequently forwarded to the Public Service Commission for its opinion.