The alleged JPSC exam irregularities matter has moved to the Supreme Court after social worker Harisharan Devgan filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). The petition seeks an independent, impartial and time-bound investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the constitution of an independent committee of retired Judges to probe into the serious allegations of irregularities in the JPSC Combined Civil Services Preliminary Examination–2025.
The petition comes amid the ongoing student protest in Jharkhand over alleged irregularities in the examination conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) on April 19 earlier this year.
What does the petition mention?
In the PIL filed, the petitioner seeks the cancellation of the CCS Preliminary Examination–2025 conducted on April 19, adding that a fresh preliminary examination be conducted thereafter, under safeguards to be approved by the Court. It also wants the CBI to conduct an independent, impartial, comprehensive and time-bound investigation into the alleged irregularities in the said examination. The PIL wants the formation of an independent committee headed by a retired Judge of the Supreme Court, or a retired Chief Justice/Judge of a High Court from outside the State of Jharkhand, which should be assisted by experts in forensic science, information technology, examination security, OMR evaluation, cybersecurity and public administration, to inquire into the integrity of the examination.
It further sought direct independent audits of the OMR scanning, coding, evaluation and result-generation systems and wanted the Apex Court to direct the investigating agency or independent committee to determine whether tainted and untainted candidates can reliably be separated on the basis of objective and verifiable material.
It further demanded the preservation of all physical and electronic exam records by the related agencies, contractors, service providers and exam centre personnel. The petition sough preservation of original OMR sheets, candidate carbon copies, question papers, answer keys, attendance sheets, biometric records, CCTV footage, dispatch registers, examination-centre reports, scanning records, evaluation data, result-generation data and all connected documents.
JPSC protests intensified
The protests over the alleged exam irregularities have intensified after talks with the government failed to break the deadlock. The latest talks came a day after the government met a 10-member delegation of the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch on Friday night. On Saturday, a five-member government panel, including three ministers, first met the faction led by JLKM leader Devendra Nath Mahto and later held discussions with delegations from the Congress-backed NSUI, ACS and Jharkhand Chhatra Morcha (JCM).
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Jharkhand student protests intensify as talks with government fail to resolve JPSC-JSSC exam row
