The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Jharkhand government’s response on a plea seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged irregularities in the Jharkhand Combined Civil Services Preliminary Competitive Examination-2025, conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) for recruitment to 103 posts.
A bench, comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana issued notice to the state government and asked its counsel to obtain instructions and respond on the next date of hearing. Notices were also issued to the JPSC, Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC), the Centre and the CBI. The protesters, however, continued to demand an independent CBI probe.
The top court’s willingness to examine the plea comes amid a wider controversy over recruitment examinations in Jharkhand where job aspirants staged a 26-day agitation over alleged irregularities in various examinations. They suspended the protest on August 19 after the Hemant Soren government cancelled 22 recruitment examinations and ordered probes into 23 others.
Jharkhand High Court Halts Cancellation of JPSC Exams Amid Allegations
The Jharkhand High Court has temporarily suspended the government’s decision to cancel the 11th and 13th JPSC examinations and the appointments made as a result. This ruling came on August 20 while the court awaits a response from the state government.
Senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, representing petitioner Harisharan Devgan, argued for a comprehensive CBI investigation into alleged irregularities in the examination process. Devgan emphasized the need to scrutinize every aspect of the examination chain, including the preparation, printing, storage, and transportation of question papers, as well as the handling of OMR sheets and the evaluation process.
The petitioner seeks clarity on whether the alleged irregularities are isolated incidents or indicative of a broader systemic issue. He also raised concerns about the ability to distinguish between candidates who may have benefited from these irregularities and those who did not.
