Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission (MPPSC) has announced that candidates from the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) will no longer get the five-year age relaxation benefit.
This decision comes after a recent order by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
Earlier, since February 2022, EWS candidates were allowed to apply for MPPSC exams up to the age of 45, just like candidates from SC, ST, and OBC categories.
This change helped thousands of EWS candidates to take part in various exams over the past few years.
However, the High Court ruled that age relaxation is meant only for reserved categories like SC, ST, and OBC. The Constitution allows EWS candidates only a 10% reservation in jobs and education, but not other benefits like age relaxation. The court said that EWS is not considered a socially backward group, so giving them extra age limit was against the rules.
Following this judgment, MPPSC released a notification on Monday stating that from now on, EWS candidates will have to follow the same age limit as the general category — a maximum of 40 years.
The commission confirmed that this decision has been made to follow the High Court's order.
