RANCHI: The Jharkhand High Court on Monday reserved its verdict after hearing arguments from all parties in petitions challenging the cancellation of advertisements for the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) Combined Civil Services Competitive Examination, the Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) recruitment examination and the Food Safety Officer competitive examination.
The court has also directed the petitioners and the state government to submit brief written arguments.
Earlier, the government submitted a sealed report detailing the investigation conducted so far. Advocate Amritansh Vats, appearing on behalf of the petitioners, argued that the extent of the irregularities committed by TDPL in these examinations requires a thorough investigation.
During the hearing, the affidavit filed by the government stated that this is not a case of isolated individual misconduct but rather one in which the entire examination system has been compromised by fraud. When the conducting agency itself is corrupt, there is no need to issue notices to individual candidates.
The CID investigation revealed large-scale tampering with OMR sheets, it said.
According to the government, irregularities were also found in the on-screen marking system. It was alleged that the then Controller transmitted the answer key via WhatsApp, it said.
Multiple 'solver gangs' were utilised during the examination, and candidate impersonation (swapping of candidates) took place. The state government maintained that the issue at hand is not merely about disciplinary action against an individual employee but about the cancellation of the entire recruitment process.
“When the conducting agency is corrupt and the chairperson destroys evidence, the entire selection process becomes suspect,” stated the government affidavit.
The government argued that, in the public interest, candidates selected through a tainted examination process should not be retained in the civil services. It further stated that conducting a fresh examination and carrying out the selection through a clean agency is the constitutionally appropriate course of action.
During the hearing, Advocate Kumar Harsh, representing the intervenors, informed the court that TDPL—the agency responsible for conducting the 11th–13th Civil Services Examination and the CDPO examination—allegedly facilitated the success of several candidates in exchange for ₹50 lakh each. Abhay Kumar Tiwari had given a statement regarding this matter during the investigation, he said.
During the previous hearing in this case, the JPSC had stated that irregularities had occurred in a systematic manner during the examinations. The investigation had revealed that the fairness of the examinations had been compromised. It is difficult to determine, within the recruitment process, which of the successful candidates are culpable and which are innocent.