The Jharkhand High Court today put a stay on the State Government’s decision to cancel the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level (JSSC CGL) examination and CDPO examination, providing significant relief to 1,932 candidates selected through the recruitment process.
The order was passed by Justice Deepak Roshan while hearing four separate petitions challenging the State Government’s notification directing the cancellation of examinations and removal of personnel appointed through some of the affected recruitment processes.
The petitions have challenged the government’s decision on the ground that candidates who cleared the examinations through the prescribed selection process should not be penalised for alleged irregularities for which they had no responsibility.
During the hearing, Advocate General Rohitashya Roy requested the court to prescribe a time frame for the State to file affidavits in all such matters. The court granted the government time until September 7 to file its response and directed the petitioners to submit their rejoinders by September 14. The next hearing has been fixed for September 15.
Advocates Indrajit Sinha and Amritansh Vats appeared for the petitioners.
The petitions have challenged multiple decisions taken by the State Government following an investigation into alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations.
Besides the JSSC CGL examination and related appointments, some petitioners have challenged the cancellation of the CDPO examination. Others have challenged the government’s decision to cancel the JPSC 11th to 13th Civil Services examination and appointments of Food Safety Officers.
The High Court has sought responses from the State Government and the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) regarding the cancellation of the CDPO examination and the JPSC 11th to 13th examination.
The government had announced late on August 18 that several recruitment examinations would be cancelled based on findings emerging from the CID investigation into alleged irregularities in the state’s recruitment system.
The decision covered examinations in which outsourcing agency TSR Data Processing Private Limited (TDPL) had been involved. The government also announced an investigation into recruitment examinations and appointments conducted through JPSC and JSSC since 2014 to determine whether there had been any irregularities.
Following the government’s announcement, the Personnel, Administrative Reforms and Rajbhasha Department issued a notification formally setting out the decisions.
According to the notification, 22 recruitment examinations were cancelled, the processes relating to six examinations were stayed or postponed, and 17 other examinations were brought within the scope of investigation.
The government has maintained that the sweeping action was necessitated by facts and alleged irregularities that emerged during the CID investigation. It has argued that the investigation indicated that the issue was not confined to an isolated examination or recruitment process.
The selected candidates, however, have contended that if irregularities occurred, those responsible should be identified and proceeded against rather than cancelling entire examinations and jeopardising the careers of candidates who cleared the selection process without any involvement in the alleged wrongdoing.
The JSSC CGL results had led to the selection of 1,932 candidates, several of whom have already been appointed and are serving in different government departments. The government’s cancellation order had created uncertainty over their appointments and future careers.
Friday’s High Court order has, at least for now, protected the selected candidates from the immediate consequences of the cancellation order. The court’s detailed consideration of the government’s justification and the petitioners’ objections will follow when the matter comes up for further hearing on September 15.
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