Roshan Kumar
Ranchi
The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to Centre and State Government on a petition seeking an independent and time-bound CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the Jharkhand Combined Civil Services Preliminary Examination. The matter came up for hearing before a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana. Senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra and advocate Satyam Singh argued the case on behalf of the petitioner.
During the hearing, Mishra, appearing for the petitioner and activist Harisharan Devgan, stated that the petition demands either a CBI probe or an investigation by a former judge of this court.
The PIL seeks independent audits of OMR scanning, coding, evaluation and result-generation systems, and an assessment of whether “tainted” and “untainted” candidates can reliably be separated on objective, verifiable material.
The petition, filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, raises what it describes as serious concerns over the “integrity, fairness, transparency and credibility” of the Jharkhand Combined Civil Services Preliminary Competitive Examination-2025. The examination was conducted by JPSC on April 19, 2026, pursuant to Advertisement No. 01/2026, and is also referred to as the 14th JPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination.
In one of the applications, the Supreme Court was requested to direct respondent number 2—the Jharkhand Public Service Commission—to cancel the ‘Jharkhand Combined Civil Services Preliminary Competitive Examination-2025’ held on April 19 and hold new examinations.
Furthermore, the petition demands a directive to set up an independent committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, a retired Chief Justice, or a judge of a High Court outside Jharkhand. This committee should include experts in forensic science, information technology, examination security, OMR evaluation, cybersecurity, and public administration to examine the integrity of the exam.
The petition also asks for directives regarding an independent audit of the systems handling OMR scanning, coding, evaluation, and result generation.
Meanwhile, BJP State President Aditya Sahu said that the issuance of notices by the Supreme Court to the Hemant government and concerned parties on the demand for a CBI inquiry into the JPSC-JSSC appointment mega-scam is a positive step in the students’ struggle. He described it as a first step forward in the direction of a CBI probe. The Supreme Court’s step has raised hopes for justice among students. He said the fight for students’ rights and their future has now reached the country’s apex court.
