SRINAGAR: The fate of thousands of aspirants, who are scheduled to appear in the J&K Administrative Service (JKAS) exam on Sunday, hangs in the balance due to a face-off between Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over age relaxation.

Aspirants, especially those from the open merit category, have been demanding that the upper age limit be raised from 32 to 37 for the exam. Aspirants in both Kashmir and Jammu have been staging protests to demand age relaxation and political parties have extended support to them.

The preliminary examination to be conducted by J&K Public Service Commission (JKPSC) on Sunday is the gateway to the prestigious J&K Administrative Service, J&K Police Service and J&K Accounts Service. The PSC has already issued admit cards for Sunday’s examination.

Last week, CM announced that he had approved age relaxation and forwarded the file for final approval to the Lt Governor. Aspirants have since then been appealing both the CM and LG to finalize the decision without further delay.

In a post on X, the CM expressed deep concern over the travel chaos caused by the ongoing airline issues, compounded by uncertainty resulting from Lok Bhavan’s delay in approving age relaxation, a provision granted multiple times in the past.

He also wrote to the JKPSC chairman, asking the commission to acknowledge the unprecedented stress on aspirants and consider postponing the examination in the interest of fairness and equal opportunity.

With the CM blaming the LG for the delay in clearing the file, the office of the Lt Governor took to X to clarify its stand on the issue.

“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 exam on 7th Dec, by incorporating modifications in eligibility criteria at such a belated stage,” it said.

The Lt Governor said that despite a lapse of four days, Lok Bhavan did not receive any response. “I fully sympathize with young aspirants,” he said.