JSSC-CGL Recruitment: Jharkhand HC Quashes Cancellation, Jobs Restored
About 2,000 selected candidates who were facing dismissal keep their posts and pay, but their appointments stay subject to the paper-leak criminal probe.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
The Jharkhand High Court on Friday, 6 November, set aside the state government’s notification of 18 August that cancelled the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) recruitment. Justice Deepak Roshan, sitting alone in Ranchi, ruled on petitions filed by selected candidates and held that cancelling the whole process on an incomplete investigation was not justified, according to PTI and The Indian Tribal.
Jobs and Salaries Stay for Selected Candidates
The court directed that appointed candidates be treated as having continued in service without a break and that they not lose salary or other service benefits because of the cancellation. Reports put the number of selected candidates at roughly 2,000 to 2,300; the two reports give different figures. The court also held that employees already appointed could not be removed without a hearing.
The relief is not unconditional. Appointments remain subject to the outcome of pending criminal proceedings, and any candidate whose involvement in malpractice is established can face action under the law.
Also read Kerala Congress CJI Post: Supreme Court Issues Contempt Notice
Why the State Cancelled 22 Exams
On 18 August, the state cancelled 22 recruitment exams held since 2014 by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission, the JSSC and the outsourced agency TDPL, and ordered probes into 23 more. It cited CID findings of organised malpractice and paper leaks. The JSSC-CGL exam itself was first scheduled for 28 January and 4 February 2024, was cancelled after a paper-leak complaint, and was held again on 21-22 September 2024.
In December 2025, a division bench told the JSSC to declare results and appoint successful candidates. The Supreme Court declined to interfere on 5 January 2026, and appointment letters went out that month. The High Court had stayed the August cancellation in the weeks after it was issued.
SIT Probe to Continue
The court said the CID’s Special Investigation Team must take its inquiry to a logical conclusion, and selected candidates must cooperate with it. Of the candidates called for document verification, 28 were flagged as suspect and results of 10 were withheld pending the probe. Reports do not say whether the state will appeal; the order is the court’s final ruling on the cancellation notification.
Source: Based on reporting by Siasat (PTI) and The Indian Tribal.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
Get IPB News first
