Aparesh Kumar Singh, J. - (1.) Heard learned counsel for the parties.
(2.) Petitioner has sought a direction upon the respondents for shifting the cut off date for reckoning the upper age limit as 31.1.2014 in place of 31.1.2015 in the Advertisement No. 10/2015 inviting applications for the post of Civil Judge (Junior Division) Munsif as also extension of time for submission of applications beyond 18.12.2015. Petitioner's date of birth is 9.12.1976. The minimum age prescribed is 22 years and the upper age limit is 35 years as on 31.1.2015. A female candidate is entitled to relaxation of upper age limit by three years. Contention of the petitioner is that even by three years of age relaxation petitioner would be ineligible to participate in the instant recruitment exercise as she would be above 38 years of age by the cut off date 31.1.2015.
(3.) Essentially the ground to challenge the fixation of cut off date is based upon the judgments rendered by the learned Division Bench of this Court in the case of Sanjeev Kumar Sahay & Ors. Vs. State of Jharkhand & Ors. reported in : 2008 (2) JLJR 543 and in the case of Bhola Nath Rajak & Ors. Vs. State of Jharkhand & Ors. reported in : 2014 (2) JBCJ 343 (HC). According to the petitioner, the instant recruitment exercise is being held after two years of the previous recruitment held under Advertisement No. 4/2013. The learned Division Bench in the case of Bhola Nath Rajak & Ors. (supra) keeping in view the long delay in the recruitment exercise to the post of Civil Judge (Junior Division), considered it proper to shift the cut off date to 31.1.2009 from 31.1.2013 so that the persons, who may have become age barred due to the delay in recruitment, would be eligible to participate keeping in view the earlier Division Bench judgment rendered in similar circumstances in the case of Sanjeev Kumar Sahay and others (supra). In the instant exercise, according to the petitioner, the candidates, who were eligible till 31.1.2013 also got a chance to participate but those, who became over age by efflux of time within next two years, would be rendered ineligible by fixation of cut off date 31.1.2015.;