Ranchi, September 18, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Jharkhand High Court on Friday extended its stay on the state government’s decision to cancel appointments made through the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) examination and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) Combined Graduate Level (CGL) recruitment process.
The court also appointed a retired High Court judge to oversee the investigation into alleged irregularities in the recruitment exercises.
A bench headed by Justice Deepak Roshan was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the government’s decision to annul appointments made through various recruitment examinations, including the JPSC CDPO and JSSC-CGL examinations.
During the hearing, the court orally observed that the material available so far indicated that not all appointments appeared to have been made fairly. At the same time, it noted that this did not mean every appointment was tainted.
The bench expressed concern over the lengthy recruitment process followed by the JPSC, observing that examinations and appointments often take two to three years to complete. It said a blanket cancellation in such circumstances could adversely affect officials against whom no individual wrongdoing had been established.
To ensure impartial scrutiny of the allegations, the court appointed retired High Court judge Gautam Kumar Choudhary to monitor the investigation. Retired IPS officer R.K. Malik was designated as the nodal officer for the probe.
During the proceedings, the Jharkhand government and the JPSC submitted their respective responses before the court.
In its affidavit, the state government defended its decision to cancel the JSSC-CGL examination, maintaining that the entire recruitment process had been vitiated by alleged irregularities. It said distinguishing between candidates who were genuinely successful and those who may have benefited unfairly had become difficult.
The government cited Supreme Court guidelines under which an entire examination can be cancelled when a recruitment process is found to be irreparably compromised and it is not possible to separate valid selections from tainted ones. On that basis, it justified scrapping the CGL examination.
The affidavit stated that confidential examination-related work, including printing and distribution of question papers to examination centres, had been entrusted to ICN Technology.
According to the government, 28 people, including the company’s CEO Somansh Prakash, have been arrested in connection with the alleged examination scam, while notices have been issued to 265 people.
The government further claimed that the investigation had uncovered evidence suggesting that candidates were allegedly provided coaching and answers at locations in Nepal, Asansol, Kolkata, Bihar, Jharia and Bokaro.
Of the 28 candidates who were taken to Nepal, 10 were successful in the CGL examination, the affidavit stated. The investigation remains underway.
Senior advocates Rajeev Ranjan, Indrajeet Sinha, Amritansh Vats, Kumar Harsh, Sonal Tiwari and Subhash Rasik Soren, among others, appeared for the petitioners.
The state government was represented by senior advocate Meenakshi Arora and Advocate General Rohitashwa Roy, while the JPSC was represented by advocates Sanjay Piperwal and Prince Kumar.
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