Plea in Supreme Court seeks CBI probe into Jharkhand Public Service Commission exam irregularities

A plea has been moved before the Supreme Court seeking an independent Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged malpractice in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission’s (JPSC) Combined Civil Services Preliminary Examination, 2025.

The petition, filed by Advocate Satyam Singh Rajput on behalf of social activist Harisharan Devgan, seeks to transfer the ongoing investigation from the Jharkhand CID to the CBI.

It argues that an agency independent of the State machinery is necessary to ensure public confidence in the outcome.

The controversy stems from the JPSC preliminary examination held on April 19, 2026.

After the results were declared on July 2, 2026, a carbon copy of a candidate’s OMR answer sheet went viral online which showed that he qualified despite allegedly attempting only 48 of 100 questions. This triggered allegations about how the exam had been evaluated.

The Commission was already facing scrutiny over its choice of TSDPL as the examination agency, a company that had reportedly been blacklisted by the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission just months earlier over separate allegations of irregularities and confidentiality breaches.

The fallout triggered sustained student protests in Ranchi, first at Bapu Vatika and later at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, with a student leader going on hunger strike from August 3 demanding an independent probe and structural reforms to the recruitment system.

Amid the pressure, three JPSC members resigned and the State government eventually agreed to cancel the 14th JPSC Combined Civil Services preliminary examination, along with backlog exams from 2023 and 2025.

The government also recommended a separate Enforcement Directorate probe into alleged financial irregularities linked to the exam. However, protesting students have continued their agitation, insisting that cancelling the exams is not enough without an investigation by an agency independent of the State government.

The plea assumes significance in light of a recent Jharkhand High Court decision staying the State government's decision to cancel the 2023 and 2025 exams.

The petition before the top court argues that cancelling the exam does not, on its own, address the need to identify what went wrong and hold those responsible accountable. It contends that only a comprehensive, independent probe can determine the nature of the alleged irregularities, identify the individuals or agencies responsible and uncover any systemic weaknesses before a fresh exam is conducted.

The plea places particular emphasis on preserving evidence before it can be lost. It points out that the CID, during its ongoing investigation, had already directed successful candidates to submit carbon copies of their OMR sheets, records that can be cross-checked against the original sheets, scanned images and evaluation data held by the JPSC and its service providers.

It seeks directions to secure all such physical and digital material, including original OMR sheets, CCTV footage, server audit logs and biometric attendance records, warning that electronic records in particular may be overwritten or deleted with the passage of time.

Urgent listing of the plea has been sought on or before August 22, citing the risk that crucial electronic evidence could be lost or tampered with if it isn’t taken up soon.