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Demanding an increase in the age limit and immediate filling of vacant posts in various departments, thousands of students held a large protest at the Jubilee Circle in Karnataka's Dharwad on Thursday, September 25. The protesters said that for several years, vacant posts, including those of Police Sub-Inspector and others across different departments, have not been filled.
Students from various colleges and coaching centres, under the banner of All the Karnataka State Students Association, participated in the protest. They urged the Congress-led state government to issue a notification for recruitment without further delay.
Protesters pointed out that lakhs of students and coaching centres have been hit hard by prolonged delays in government recruitment. They said the selection process for constable and PSI posts has been on hold for four to five years, while vacancies for FDA and SDA positions have remained vacant for seven to eight years. As a result, many aspirants have now crossed the upper age limit.
The students demanded that the government grant at least five years of age relaxation and immediately restart the recruitment process. They also urged authorities to review and scrap the existing KAS notification, alleging that it contains serious errors in the Kannada translation.
As thousands of students had gathered at Jubilee Circle, the police had a tough time trying to control the situation. Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner, N. Shashikumar, also visited the spot and tried to convince the protesting students. Due to the students blocking all vehicular movement apart from ambulances, heavy traffic congestion was reported on major roads of Dharwad for several hours. It took more than four hours for the city to return to normalcy.
There is a strong, ongoing demand from candidates and various organisations for the Karnataka government to increase the age limit for police recruitment. A procession was also held in Mysuru on September 11, 2025, to push for revised limits of 30 years for general candidates and 33 years for SC/ST candidates.
The current general age limit is 25, and 27 years for reserved categories. Politicians, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, have previously supported the demand for revision, but no official action has been taken yet to change the current criteria.
For several years, aspirants have been demanding an increase in the age limit for police constable recruitment in Karnataka. However, successive governments have failed to act on this demand, leading to frustration among thousands of candidates.
Compared to other states, Karnataka has one of the lowest age limit for recruitment of police constables. While most of the states allow general category candidates from 28 to 33 years, and SC/ST and OBC candidates from 32 to 38 years, Karnataka's limit remains at 25 years for general category and 27 years for reserved categories.