Jharkhand HC rejects plea for CBI probe into JSSC-CGL ‘paper leak’, orders release of results

Ranchi, Dec 3 The Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition seeking a CBI investigation into the alleged paper leak in the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission’s Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) examination.

This has now cleared the way for the long-delayed results to be published.

A division bench of Chief Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Rajesh Shankar pronounced the verdict on Wednesday, nearly a month after they reserved judgment on November 3.

The court directed the Commission to publish the pending results without further delay.

During previous hearings, Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan and Advocate Piyush Chitresh represented the state government, while Advocate Sanjay Piparwal appeared for the JSSC.

Senior Supreme Court advocate Ajit Kumar Sinha and senior High Court advocate Ajit Kumar represented the petitioners.

The highly competitive JSSC-CGL examination -- conducted for recruitment to more than 2,000 state government posts -- was held on September 21 and 22, 2024, across 823 examination centres. Out of 3,04,769 candidates who appeared, the Commission shortlisted 2,145 candidates on December 5, 2024.

However, the declaration of results was halted after Rajesh Kumar and others filed a public interest litigation (PIL) demanding a CBI probe, alleging the exam had been compromised through leaked question papers.

Taking note of the allegations, the High Court imposed an interim stay on the release of results on December 17, 2024.

After several hearings, the state government informed the bench that the Crime Investigation Department (CID) had found no substantial evidence to support claims of a paper leak. Counsel for the Commission also denied any breach in the examination process.

The petitioners, meanwhile, insisted on the need for a central agency probe, citing similarities in question papers, purported videos from outside examination centres, and other circumstantial material.

The court judgement of rejection of the CBI probe and the order of publication of results has brought relief to lakhs of aspirants who have been waiting for the next phase of recruitment.

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