Ranchi, Nov 6 The Jharkhand High Court on Friday quashed the state government’s notification cancelling the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) examination, a decision taken in August amid protests by job aspirants over alleged recruitment irregularities.
The verdict is expected to secure jobs for more than 2,000 government employees who had cleared the examination and were recruited through the process.
Hearing petitions filed by successful candidates, Justice Deepak Roshan set aside the August 18 notification, terming the government’s decision “unfair and unjust”.
The state government defended the cancellation, arguing that investigations by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had established evidence of large-scale irregularities and question paper leaks.
Appearing for the government, Advocate General Rohitashya Roy argued that the department was left with no option but to cancel the examination in view of the evidence of mass bungling and paper leaks found during the CID probe.
“The only way left for the government to redress the wrong was to terminate the examinations,” Roy had submitted.
The successful candidates, led by Akash Gaurav and Niranjan Khess, had challenged the cancellation, arguing that their services had been terminated without even issuing show-cause notices or giving them an opportunity to present their case.
Represented by advocates Indrajit Sinha and Amritansh Vats, among others, the petitioners contended that the government could not cancel the examination merely through a notification.
The high court had earlier stayed the operation of the August 18 notification.
While setting aside the cancellation order, the court observed that the CID investigation into the alleged irregularities would continue to its logical conclusion and that appropriate action should be taken based on its findings.
The state’s Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department issued the August 18 notification cancelling the JSSC-CGL examination, held on September 21 and 22, 2024. The exam was among 22 recruitment tests conducted since 2014 that the government decided to scrap amid protests by job aspirants over alleged irregularities. It also ordered probes into 23 other examinations.
The examinations had been conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC), JSSC and outsourced agency TDPL.
The high court had, however, stayed the cancellation of certain examinations, including the JSSC-CGL, following petitions by successful candidates. A Special Investigation Team of the state CID is probing the alleged irregularities in the examination.
(PTI News)
