By The Jharkhand High Court told the state government to provide a clear, time-bound update on its CID probe into the JSSC-CGL recruitment irregularities, after Justice Deepak Roshan’s bench raised concerns over the investigation’s pace.
The government said a sealed-cover report on the CID investigation would be filed, but the court rejected its separate request for a week’s extension to submit an affidavit on the probe’s status.
The bench directed the state to clarify its position and respond within 48 hours, noting that the case involves the futures of numerous candidates and cannot be delayed unnecessarily.
The interim stay shielding 99 appointees under Advertisement No. 10/2023 remains in place, with the next hearing set for September 18.
The case arose from the government’s August 17 cancellation of the JSSC-CGL exam and related recruitment advertisements, following a lengthy student protest over alleged irregularities.
Senior advocate Meenakshi Arora is representing the Jharkhand government in the case.
The matter also covers cancelled recruitment advertisements for the JPSC, CDPO and Food Safety Officer examinations, affecting thousands of applicants beyond the JSSC-CGL candidates.
The original cancellation was announced by Chief Minister Hemant Soren on August 17, following a 24-day student protest over alleged recruitment irregularities.
The government simultaneously scrapped all examinations conducted by blacklisted agency TSR Data Processing Private Limited, widening the fallout beyond the CGL exam alone.
The CID’s probe covers recruitment examinations dating back to 2014, making it one of the broadest irregularity investigations the state has ordered in recent years.
A separate committee headed by senior IAS officer Amitabh Kaushal has been tasked with framing rules to prevent future examination irregularities.
A parallel Supreme Court petition filed by activist Harisharan Devgan is separately seeking to transfer the investigation from the state CID to the CBI.
Successful JSSC-CGL candidates who had already secured appointments have previously staged protests, including a human chain and torchlight demonstrations, after the cancellation was announced.
High Court of Jharkhand, Ranchi, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
