The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday maintained its stay on the state government’s order cancelling the JPSC 11-13 civil service and JSSC-CGL recruitment examinations, affecting the regular jobs of over 2,000 state government employees working across the state.
The next hearing is scheduled for Friday. The court also termed the government’s action as ‘Tughlaki Farman’. The notification was issued a day after a discussion on the matter in the state cabinet following student protests demanding proper action regarding irregularities in the recruitment exams conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC). the affected candidates approached the judiciary, claiming they were being unfairly targeted While the government maintained that the cancellations were necessary to preserve the sanctity of public employment.
Rejecting the government’s request for a four-week extension, the court granted only 48 hours to file a status report. Former advocate general Rajeev Ranjan, who appeared on behalf of several candidates adversely affected by the government’s order, said, “the government sought four weeks to file a reply, but the court gave the government just 48 hours, setting the next hearing for Friday. The legal battle stems from the government’s August 18 late night notification to annul several competitive examinations following allegations of paper leaks and institutional irregularities involving a blacklisted third-party examination management agency.
People aware of the development said Justice Deepak Roshan’s court slammed the state’s action as arbitrary and high-handed, while criticising the sluggish CID probe. “We sought four weeks, but the court directed the government to file the affidavit by Friday,” Advocate General Rohitashya Roy said without elaborating on details. AG Roy, however, informed that the CID filed its investigation status report in sealed cover before the court today (Tuesday).
