Ranchi, Aug 19: The Jharkhand government has cancelled 44 recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC), while postponing six other examinations and ordering investigations into 17 older exams following allegations of irregularities. The decisions were taken after a prolonged student agitation in Ranchi demanding action over alleged discrepancies in recruitment examinations, including the JSSC Combined Graduate Level (CGL) examination.
The government has also cancelled the JSSC-CGL examination, conducted under Advertisement No. 10/2023, which had emerged as the central demand of protesting aspirants. According to government notifications issued on August 18, examinations conducted with the involvement of TDPL have been cancelled in several cases following complaints and findings emerging from investigations by the state CID and SIT.
Among the cancelled JPSC examinations are recruitments for non-teaching university posts, drug inspectors, assistant professors, lecturers, civil judges, forest officers, assistant public prosecutors and the Combined Civil Services Examination. The government has also cancelled the Food Safety Officer, Child Development Project Officer and Combined Civil Services Examination-2023 conducted through the recruitment process in question.
Six other JPSC examinations have been postponed until further orders. These include examinations for Food Analyst, Deputy Director (Prosecution), Project Manager, Inspector of Factories, Boiler Inspector and Director. The government has directed the CID to verify the credentials and role of the agency involved in the preliminary work for these examinations.
In a separate decision, the government ordered a CID inquiry into 17 older JPSC examinations conducted between 2010 and 2022. These include several Combined Civil Services examinations, Civil Judge examinations, the Assistant Engineer examination and recruitment of dental doctors. The government has not cancelled these 17 examinations at this stage, with the decision to be taken after the investigation.
The state has also decided to seek the establishment of a fast-track court for cases related to alleged irregularities in JPSC and JSSC examinations. Internal vigilance cells are proposed to be created in both commissions. A reform committee headed by senior IAS officer Amitabh Kaushal will examine the recruitment and examination system of JPSC and JSSC and submit its report within two months.
The government’s decisions came after a 24-day student agitation and a 16-day hunger strike by activist Devendra Nath Mahto, with protesters demanding cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination and an investigation into alleged irregularities in recruitment tests.
However, the cancellation has triggered a fresh protest by candidates who were selected and appointed through the affected examinations. They argue that action should be taken against those responsible for irregularities rather than against candidates who cleared the examinations. The selected candidates gathered outside Project Bhavan, the state secretariat complex in Ranchi, on Tuesday and demanded protection of their appointments.
The development has put the state government in a difficult situation, as its decision to address the demands of protesting aspirants has simultaneously opened a new dispute with candidates whose selections and appointments are now affected.
The government is now expected to face legal and administrative challenges over the cancellation of examinations and appointments while its investigations and proposed recruitment reforms move forward.
