PPSC policy to determine age eligibility for prosecutors abolished

LAHORE :The Lahore High Court Tuesday abolished for one-time a policy of Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) to determine age eligibility of applicants for the posts of Assistant District Public Prosecutors (ADPP) retrospectively.

Justice Ayesha A Malik passed the order while allowing a petition moved by Sirajur Rehman and other applicants. The petitioners contended that the PPSC advertised the posts of ADPP on August 24, 2017 and set September 14 as closing date for submission of the applications. However, they said, cut-off date to determine the age eligibility of the candidates was set as January 1, 2017. The petitioners stated that they stood underage as per the cut-off date but attained the minimum age limit of 25 years before the closing date.

They argued that the policy of the PPSC regarding determination of age eligibility from 1st of January of the year for the recruitment to be made in subsequent months of the same year was discriminatory in nature and violation of fundamental rights.

They asked the court to set aside the impugned policy and declare them eligible to apply for the posts. The Punjab government’s law officer Anwaar Hussain said the petitioners claimed to be underage on January 1, 2017; however, there would be other candidates who could be prejudiced if the cut-off date was changed to September 15, 2017 as they would become overage on the said date.

Justice Malik observed that the petitioners could not be burdened with discriminatory treatment on account of the practice of PPSC.

The judge noted that the impugned policy introduced by the PPSC in October 2016 was never made public before the recruitment process. The judge set aside the impugned policy as one-time relief and observed that the applicants who were underage on January 1, 2017 and those who become overage after the cutoff date will be eligible to apply for the posts of ADPP. Maximum age limit for the post was 35 years.