Thousands of candidates preparing for the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) examinations took to the streets of Pune on January 1 and 2, staging vigorous protests. Their core demand was age relaxation for the Police Sub Inspector (PSI) recruitment under the upcoming MPSC Group-B (Non-Gazetted) Services Combined Preliminary Examination 2025.
Police Action and Political Support
The Vishrambaug Police registered a case on Friday against 20 protesters involved in a demonstration on January 1. The police action was taken under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Maharashtra Police Act. Authorities stated that approximately 30 to 40 aspirants had gathered illegally on Shastri Road, raising slogans.
The protest gained significant momentum on January 2, drawing a crowd of thousands near Bhide Bridge. The gathering received a boost with the arrival of Manoj Jarange-Patil, a prominent leader of the Maratha reservation agitation, who extended his support to the students' cause.
Adding a political dimension to the issue, Rohit Pawar of the NCP(SP) voiced strong support for the aspirants. On January 1, he took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to criticize the government's handling of the situation. He highlighted the delay in announcing the exam advertisement and the subsequent age limit cutoff, which he argued was unjust to students. Pawar also mentioned that he had urged police officials to reconsider the filing of cases against the protesters.
The Core Grievance: A Delayed Advertisement and Age Cutoff
Speaking anonymously, a protester explained the crux of the issue to reporters. Typically, the advertisement for the MPSC 2025 preliminary exams is released in November or December of 2025. However, this cycle, it was issued in July 2025, with the exam scheduled for January 4, 2026.
The problem arises from the age limit cutoff date, which has been set as November 2025. Aspirants argue that due to the government's delay in releasing the advertisement, many candidates who would have been eligible if the timeline was normal are now excluded because they will exceed the age limit by the time of the exam. The upper age limit for open category candidates for PSI recruitment is 31 years.
"This is unfair, and which is why thousands of us have taken to the streets," the aspirant stated.
Exam Schedule and Broader Context
The Maharashtra Group-B (Non-Gazetted) Services Combined Preliminary Examination – 2025 was originally slated for December 21. It was postponed to January 4, 2026, as the State Election Commission scheduled the counting of votes for Municipal Councils on the original date.
Furthermore, the Maharashtra Group-C Services Combined Preliminary Examination – 2025 is also on the horizon, scheduled to be conducted on January 11, 2026. The protests have thus erupted at a critical juncture, just days before a major state-level competitive examination, putting pressure on the administration to address the aspirants' demands promptly.
The situation remains tense in Pune as aspirants await a formal response from the government regarding their demand for age relaxation, while the legal proceedings against some protesters add another layer of complexity to the ongoing agitation.
