JPSC exam row: Jharkhand govt agrees to cancellation; three PSC members resign

NEW DELHI: The Jharkhand government on Sunday agreed to cancel the 14th Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) examination and the JPSC Backlog 2023 and JPSC Backlog 2025 examinations amid continuing protests by students over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations.

The government also announced a CID investigation into the alleged irregularities and said it would seek an Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe into suspected irregularities. A fast-track court will be constituted after the investigation, while charge sheets against those found guilty will be filed within 90 days, Minister Sudivya Kumar Sonu said after talks with representatives of the protesting students.

The government said it had agreed to 98 per cent of the demands raised by the students. It also proposed a monitoring committee headed by a retired judge to oversee the investigation and address the concerns of the protesters.

However, the students remained firm on their demand for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe. They rejected the government's proposal and said their agitation would continue. They have announced a march to the Jharkhand Assembly on Monday.

The government did not agree to the students' demand for cancellation of the JSSC Combined Graduate Level (CGL) examination, citing the ongoing judicial proceedings concerning the examination. The Jharkhand High Court had allowed publication of the results and continuation of the recruitment process while the investigation into alleged irregularities continued, and the Supreme Court later declined to interfere with that order.

Three sitting members of the JPSC — Ajita Bhattacharya, Anima Hansda and Jamal Ahmed — resigned amid the controversy. Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar accepted their resignations on Sunday following a recommendation from the state government.

The government said the CID would investigate the criminal aspects of the alleged irregularities in the 14th JPSC examination and the 2023-25 backlog recruitments. The ED would be requested to investigate suspected illicit financial transactions.

The government also proposed an expert committee comprising representatives from IIT-ISM, IIM Ranchi and XLRI to recommend reforms to the recruitment examination system.

The protests have been continuing in Ranchi over alleged irregularities in examinations conducted by the JPSC and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC). The students have demanded cancellation of several examinations conducted after 2019, a CBI investigation and greater transparency in the recruitment process.

The JSSC-CGL examination has also been the subject of a separate paper-leak controversy and judicial proceedings. The Jharkhand High Court had rejected a petition seeking a CBI investigation into the alleged leak and directed that the examination results and recruitment process proceed while the investigation continued. The government therefore did not accept the students' demand to cancel the CGL examination.