Cuttack, Nov. 12: The Odisha Public Service Commission has become embroiled in controversy for increasing the upper age-limit to appear in the Odisha Civil Service Examination, 2015 by five years for Socially & Educationally Backward Classes.

The Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) conducts the civil service examinations to recruit candidates for the Odisha Administrative Service, Odisha Police Service, Odisha Cooperative Service, Odisha Revenue Service and Odisha Taxation & Accounts Service. The examination takes place in three stages with the preliminary round followed by the mains and interview.

OPSC had, through an advertisement on July 1, invited applications to fill up 670 vacancies in these services. Of the 670 posts, 341 had been left unreserved.

Several petitions challenging the OPSC's decision were filed in the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT).

Acting on it, a tribunal bench constituting of S. K. Dash (member administration) and B. K. Dash (member judicial) issued a notice to the OPSC last week to file a response within two weeks.

General category candidates between 21 and 32 years can apply for the examination. However, the upper age-limit was relaxed by five years for candidates belonging to Scheduled Tribe, Scheduled Caste and Socially & Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) categories.

The petitions argue that the five-year age relaxation is invalid as the age-limit eligibility criteria was fixed on the basis of the Orissa Reservation of Posts and Services (For Socially and Educationally Backward Classes) Act, 2008.

According to the Act, "For appointment of candidates belonging to SEBC class the upper age limit prescribed for the recruitment shall be increased by five years".

The petitions contended that the age relaxation is not applicable as the Act was quashed by the Tribunal on December 12, 2013. The Act, which came into force on February 7, 2009 had fixed the quota for SEBC candidates in government jobs at 27 per cent.

The tribunal had quashed the Act on the ground that it was implemented before inclusion in the ninth schedule of the Constitution of India.

The decision to invite applications for OCS, 2015 examination had followed a direction from Orissa High Court on January 16, 2015. "The state government and OPSC should take all steps to conduct Odisha Civil Service Competitive Examination every year in view of large number of vacancies," the court said in its order.

OCS examination was last held in the state in 2011.