Allahabad HC seeks UP govt's response on age relaxation withdrawal

The Allahabad High Court has sought a response from the UP government and Police Recruitment Board over the abrupt withdrawal of a 3-year age relaxation for Home Guards in the constable recruitment, which petitioners called arbitrary and unconstitutional.

The Allahabad High Court on Saturday sought a response from the Uttar Pradesh government and the Police Recruitment Board regarding the sudden withdrawal of a three-year age relaxation granted to Home Guard candidates in the constable recruitment process. The court has fixed February 12 as the next date of hearing in the matter.

The order was passed by a single bench of Justice Vikas Budhwar while hearing a petition filed by Shivam Singh and 22 other candidates. The petitioners were represented by advocate Rishabh Kesarwani.

Details of the Petition

Counsel for the petitioners informed the court that the matter pertained to the direct recruitment of 32,679 constables and equivalent posts. On January 5, 2026, the state government decided to grant a three-year relaxation in the upper age limit to candidates in the Home Guard category. Following this decision, a large number of Home Guard candidates completed their applications.

However, on January 22, 2026, the Police Recruitment Board abruptly withdrew the age relaxation, rendering many Home Guard candidates ineligible to apply. It was argued that, once the state government had decided to grant age relaxation and candidates had applied on that basis, the Recruitment Board's sudden withdrawal of the relaxation was arbitrary and unconstitutional. The petitioners contended that changing the rules midway through the recruitment process constitutes injustice and violates the candidates' legitimate rights.

The petitioners have requested the court to quash the decision of the Police Recruitment Board. Taking note of the seriousness of the issue, the High Court has sought detailed information from the state government and the Recruitment Board. (ANI)

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