Plea for CBI probe into JPSC Exam: SC issues Notice to Centre
The Supreme Court on Monday, August 24, issued notices to the Centre and the Jharkhand government on a plea seeking an independent, time-bound CBI investigation into alleged malpractices in the Jharkhand Combined Civil Services Preliminary Examination.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana sought responses from the Union of India, the Jharkhand government, the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC), the CBI and others named in the petition.
The court was hearing a plea filed under Article 32 of the Constitution by activist Harisharan Devgan, through advocate Satyam Singh Rajput. Senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, appearing for the petitioner, told the bench that the plea seeks either a CBI inquiry or a probe headed by a former judge of the Supreme Court.
According to the petition, it was filed in public interest seeking urgent intervention over "serious and substantial concerns" regarding the integrity, fairness, transparency and credibility of the Jharkhand Combined Civil Services Preliminary Competitive Examination 2025, conducted by the JPSC pursuant to Advertisement No. 01/2026, issued on April 19, 2026.
The plea has also sought transfer of the investigation from the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to the CBI to ensure an impartial probe into public officials and examination agencies involved.
The petitioner submitted that the controversy cannot be treated merely as a dispute concerning individual candidates or isolated instances of alleged malpractice, according to the petition.
It said the allegations require scrutiny of the entire examination process from preparation and printing of question papers, coding, storage, transportation and distribution, to conduct of the exam, custody and scanning of OMR sheets, evaluation, storage of electronic data, and declaration of results.
The plea has further sought directions to immediately secure all physical and digital evidence including original and candidate-held OMR carbon copies, CCTV footage and server audit logs to prevent tampering, the petition said.
Clarifying the scope of relief sought, the petitioner said in the plea that the mere existence of allegations or public protests cannot by itself justify cancellation of an examination, and that cancellation was not being sought merely on the basis of media reports or allegations.
"The principal relief sought is for an independent, impartial, comprehensive and time-bound investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation, so that the nature, extent, mechanism and impact of the alleged irregularities may be objectively determined," the petition said.
The plea also raised the consequential question of whether the preliminary examination can safely be relied upon, stating this must be determined on the basis of objective and scientifically verifiable evidence.
The petitioner further said he has raised a constitutional question on whether a public recruitment examination conducted by a constitutional authority retained the minimum degree of fairness, transparency, reliability and institutional integrity necessary for its result to form the lawful basis for public appointments, according to the petition.
(Inputs from PTI)