The Supreme Court on Monday (August 24) issued notices to the Centre and the Jharkhand government in relation to a petition seeking a CBI inquiry or probe by a retired apex court judge into irregularities in the Jharkhand Combined Civil Services Preliminary Examination.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana heard the petition which names the Jharkhand Public Service Commission.
Plea seeks independent probe
During the hearing, senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra stated that the petitioner seeks either a CBI probe or an inquiry by a former Supreme Court judge. The petitioner, activist Harisharan Devgan, filed it through advocate Satyam Singh Rajput.
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“The present writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India is being preferred in public interest seeking urgent intervention of this court in relation to serious and substantial concerns regarding the integrity, fairness, transparency and credibility of the Jharkhand Combined Civil Services Preliminary Competitive Examination 2025, conducted by respondent no. 2 Jharkhand Public Service Commission pursuant to Advertisement No. 01/2026 on April 19, 2026,” it said.
The plea has also sought transfer of the investigation from the state CID to the CBI to ensure an impartial probe into public officials and examination agencies.
The petitioner further submitted that the controversy cannot appropriately be examined merely as a dispute concerning individual candidates or isolated instances of alleged malpractice.
Examination process under scrutiny
“The allegations require examination of the entire examination chain, including preparation and printing of question papers, coding, storage, transportation, distribution, conduct of the examination, collection and custody of OMR sheets, scanning, coding and decoding, evaluation, storage and access to electronic examination data, generation of the result and publication thereof,” stated the petition.
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It also sought direction to immediately secure all physical and digital evidence, including original and candidate-held OMR carbon copies, CCTV footage, and server audit logs, to prevent tampering.
Plea stops short of seeking cancellation
“The petitioner is conscious that the mere existence of allegations or public protests cannot, by itself, justify cancellation of an examination. The petitioner, therefore, does not seek cancellation merely on the basis of media reports or allegations,” stated the petition.
“The principal relief sought is for an independent, impartial, comprehensive and time-bound investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation, so that the nature, extent, mechanism and impact of the alleged irregularities may be objectively determined,” it added.
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The petition said the consequential question-Whether the preliminary examination can safely be relied upon? – must be determined based on objective and scientifically verifiable evidence.
The petitioner said he raises a constitutional question concerning whether a public recruitment examination conducted by a constitutional authority has retained the minimum degree of fairness, transparency, reliability and institutional integrity necessary for its result to constitute the lawful basis for public appointments. (With agency inputs)