Jharkhand examination irregularities: SC to hear plea for CBI probe on Monday

The Supreme Court will on Monday hear a plea seeking a federal 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 headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant will take up the petition filed by Harisharan Devgan, who has alleged serious concerns over the integrity, fairness and transparency of the April 19 preliminary examination.

The plea seeks an independent, impartial and time-bound Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the examination process, besides immediate preservation of physical and electronic records connected with it.

It comes against the backdrop of a 26-day agitation by job aspirants in Jharkhand over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations. The protesters temporarily suspended their stir on August 19 after the Hemant Soren government cancelled 22 recruitment examinations and ordered probes into 23 others, giving the government two months to address their remaining concerns.

The protesters continued to insist on an independent CBI probe, making clear that the agitation had only been postponed and not called off permanently.

The Jharkhand high court on August 20 stayed the government’s orders cancelling the 11th and 13th JPSC examinations and appointments made pursuant to them, while seeking the state’s response.

Devgan’s petition comes after allegations surfaced following the declaration of the preliminary examination results on July 2. Among the issues cited is the circulation of a purported candidate-held carbon copy of an OMR sheet, which allegedly showed a discrepancy between the number of questions attempted by a candidate and the candidate’s qualification for the next stage.

The petition, filed through advocate Neema, does not claim that the document’s authenticity has been conclusively established, but says it warrants forensic examination.

The Jharkhand CID has registered a case concerning alleged irregularities in examinations conducted. It subsequently asked candidates who qualified in the preliminary examination to submit their carbon copies of Paper I and Paper II OMR sheets between July 30 and August 5.

According to the plea, these copies can be compared with the original OMR sheets, scanned images, coding and decoding records, evaluation data and result-generation records maintained by the JPSC or its service providers.

Devgan argues that the allegations cannot be treated merely as a dispute involving individual candidates or isolated malpractice. The investigation, he said, needs to examine the entire examination chain, including preparation and printing of question papers, coding, storage, transportation and distribution, conduct, collection and custody of OMR sheets, scanning, evaluation and generation of the final result.

The probe must also establish whether any irregularity was isolated or systemic, candidate-specific or centre-specific, and whether tainted and untainted candidates can be reliably identified, the petition said.

The plea refers to JPSC’s decision to postpone the Combined Civil Services Main Written Examination 2025, scheduled from July 25 to 27. In a July 22 press release, the commission also postponed remaining examinations under its 2026 calendar until further orders.

The petitioner has cited previous controversies surrounding JPSC and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission examinations, including allegations concerning paper leaks. It refers to material relating to the 2024 JSSC-CGL examination and a reported state CID finding that around 120 of 150 questions had allegedly been leaked before the examination.

The plea says these earlier instances are relied upon only as surrounding circumstances indicating recurring concerns over examination integrity, and not as proof of wrongdoing in the present examination.

The petition invokes Articles 14, 16 and 315 of the Constitution, arguing that the JPSC’s status as a constitutional body makes the integrity of its recruitment process a matter of public importance. If the examination is materially compromised, the resulting merit list cannot provide a reliable basis for public appointments, it said.

The petitioner has relied on the Jharkhand Competitive Examination (Measures for Control and Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Act, 2023, which provides safeguards against unfair means at various stages of the examination process.

Seeking transfer of the probe to the CBI despite the ongoing CID investigation, Devgan has cited the need for institutional independence and public confidence. He clarified that he is not alleging personal mala fides against the CID officers conducting the probe.

Devgan has not sought cancellation of the examination merely based on allegations or media reports. Instead, he wants its integrity determined through an independent investigation.

If the probe establishes that the examination was materially compromised, or that tainted and untainted candidates cannot reliably be separated, the petitioner has sought cancellation of the April 19 preliminary examination and a fresh examination under appropriate safeguards.

The plea maintains that the issue is not one of reassessment of answers or interference with JPSC’s academic discretion, but whether an examination conducted by a constitutional recruitment authority retains the fairness, transparency and institutional integrity necessary for its result to form the basis for public appointments.