The Jharkhand High Court on Friday quashed the order of a special CBI court which had directed the JPSC to reevaluate the answer sheets of first and second civil services examinations conducted by it. The Court however, said that the CBI may seek any cooperation during the investigation of the case.
“The court of Justice RR Prasad today quashed the order passed by the special CBI court calling it unlawful as there is
no provision of reevaluation of answer sheets in any of the states,” said JPSC counsel Sanjay Piparwar.
Piparwar also argued in the court that the lower court cannot issue such order to the Commission during the pendency of the case. According to Piparwar, the order had been issued on April 23, last year by the lower court after a request was made by the investigating officer of the case on April 18. “The lower court cannot interfere during the pendency of the investigation by issuing such an order, said Piparwar.
Moreover, there is no such provision to reevaluate the answer sheets of any of the public services examination in any of the states. “The court after hearing arguments from both the sides today allowed our
petition quashing the order,” added Piparwar.
A probe is being done by the CBI in all the examinations conducted by the JPSC following a directive given by a division bench of Justice R.K. Merethia and Justice DN Upadhaya on June 14, 2012 hearing a Public Interest litigation (PIl) filed by Budhadeo Oraon, questioning an earlier investigation by the state vigilance bureau.
During the hearing on a bunch of petitions challenging the second JPSC examination, the bench ordered all the officers posted in various state departments, to stop work till the CBI concludes its investigation as the combined competitive examination was found to be tainted. The order however, was revoked by the Apex Court reinstating the officers back to their duties.