The Jharkhand High Court has appointed retired Justice Gautam Kumar Choudhary as the monitor of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the case concerning the cancellation of various JPSC and JSSC recruitment examinations. The court has also continued the interim stay on the orders cancelling the recruitments until the next hearing.
The Jharkhand High Court on Friday heard petitions challenging the state government’s decision to cancel various recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).
Justice Deepak Roshan’s court appointed retired High Court judge Gautam Kumar Choudhary as the monitor/observer of the SIT investigation. The court clarified that the arrangement would not affect the investigation and that the interim stay would remain in force until the next hearing.
The court said the arrangement has primarily been made to examine complaints by candidates regarding harassment or improper conduct during the investigation.
The court clarified that being summoned by the SIT would not, by itself, amount to harassment. The investigating agency has the authority to proceed according to law and summon any person for questioning when necessary.
However, if a candidate believes that he or she is being treated improperly during the investigation, the complaint can be placed before retired Justice Gautam Kumar Choudhary. If the complaint is found to be valid after examination, the SIT chief will be informed about the necessary corrective action.
The High Court also clarified that the appointment of the monitor does not mean that any candidate will be exempted from the SIT investigation. If a recruited candidate receives a summons from the SIT, the candidate will have to fully cooperate with the investigation.
The court has put this arrangement in place so that the investigation can continue according to the legal process while an independent mechanism remains available for candidates to raise complaints. The retired judge’s monitoring will not constitute interference in the SIT investigation.
Retired IPS officer RK Mallik has also been appointed as the nodal officer to assist the monitor.
The High Court has continued the interim order already issued against the state government’s decision to cancel various recruitment examinations and appointments.
The petitions being heard in the case relate to the JPSC 11th to 13th Combined Civil Services Examination, JSSC-CGL, CDPO and Food Safety Officer recruitment.
The court has scheduled the next hearing for October 7, 2026. During the hearing, the state government also filed a counter-affidavit supporting its decision to cancel the recruitment examinations.
In its response, the state government defended its decision to cancel the JSSC-CGL examination. According to the government, the entire examination process had been affected by alleged irregularities, making it difficult to distinguish between candidates who passed the examination fairly and those who allegedly gained an unfair advantage.
In its affidavit, the government also cited Supreme Court guidelines in support of the cancellation. It referred to directions related to the Vanshika versus Union Government case. The government argued that when an examination process is widely affected and it is not possible to distinguish between candidates who succeeded fairly and those who succeeded through unfair means, the entire examination can be cancelled.
According to the government’s affidavit, several confidential tasks related to the JSSC-CGL examination had been assigned to ICN Technology. These included printing the question papers and transporting them to examination centres.
According to the government, the investigation into the alleged examination irregularities is continuing. The affidavit states that 28 people, including ICN Technology CEO Somansh Prakash, have been arrested. It also mentions that notices have been issued to 265 people.
The government has claimed that during the investigation, information emerged about candidates being provided with answers to questions or being made to memorise answers at different locations, including Nepal, Asansol, Kolkata, Bihar, Jharia and Bokaro. The investigation into the matter is continuing.
