The Jharkhand High Court has ordered the reinstatement of candidates selected through the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level examination, which was quashed by the court due to alleged irregularities.
On Friday, the Jharkhand High Court quashed the state government's decision to cancel the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level examination, held under advertisement number 10/2023. This came after weeks of student protests against alleged irregularities in the conduct of competitive examinations for government jobs. Justice Deepak Roshan also ordered the reinstatement of candidates selected through the examination, directing that their service be treated as continuous without interruption.
The court observed that it was ‘not impossible’ to identify the guilty candidates in the matter, therefore, ‘instead of cancelling the entire examination and the appointments made on its basis, those involved in the irregularities can be identified through an investigation.’ The state government had issued a notification on August 18 cancelling 22 exams including the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level examination, Child Development Programme Officer, and the 11th to 13th Jharkhand Public Service Commission. The High Court also stayed notifications cancelling these examinations on August 21.
The Chief Minister Hemant Soren-led government had also decided to postpone six other examinations, with the investigation into them handed over to the Crime Investigation Department. However, the High Court's decision was met by protests from students who accused the state government of ‘deceiving’ and ‘betraying’ job aspirants.
The court said that the appointments of all selected candidates cannot be terminated merely on the grounds that allegations exist or investigations are pending against a few individual candidates. This implies that only those found guilty will face consequences, not all the candidates.
Source:
Scroll.in
