The Jharkhand High Court has quashed the state government's decision to cancel various competitive examinations, including the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level examination and the Child Development Programme Officer test. The court also stayed the cancellation of the 11th to 13th Jharkhand Public Service Commission Combined Civil Services examinations and the recruitment of Food Safety Officers.
On Friday, the Jharkhand High Court quashed the state government’s decision to cancel multiple competitive examinations for state jobs. The court’s ruling affected various examinations, including the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level examination and the Child Development Programme Officer test, which were held under advertisement number 10/2023. Justice Deepak Roshan also ordered the reinstatement of candidates selected through these examinations, directing that their service be treated as continuous without interruption. The court stated that the candidates would not be denied any service benefits due to the notifications cancelling their recruitment.
The state government had issued a notification on August 18, cancelling 22 exams including the 11th to 13th Jharkhand Public Service Commission, Child Development Programme Officer, and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level examination. The decision followed weeks of student protests against alleged irregularities in the conduct of competitive examinations for government jobs.
On August 21, the High Court had stayed the notifications cancelling the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level examination and the Child Development Project Officer test. This came a day after it stayed the state government’s decision to cancel the 11th to 13th Jharkhand Public Service Commission Combined Civil Services examinations, and the recruitment of Food Safety Officers.
On Friday, the High 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 court also said the state government had failed to provide concrete evidence that the entire selection process was affected by systematic irregularities. The judge further stated 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.’
Source:
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