The growing controversy over irregularities in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) has reached the Supreme Court (SC) on Saturday, as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in this regard. The plea has sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged irregularities in the recruitment process, the cancellation of the exam and a fresh test under security measures suggested by the court. 

The development has emerged as students and civil services aspirants continue their agitation over alleged irregularities in the examination process, despite two rounds of talks with the Jharkhand government. Social activist Harisharan Devgan has filed the PIL through an advocate attached to the top court, Satyam Singh Rajpoot, seeking a fair and comprehensive probe into the fairness and the conduct of the examination. 

What has been demanded in the plea?

The petitioner has urged the Apex court to either direct a CBI probe or constitute an independent committee headed by a retired judge to examine the allegations. Moreover, it has sought the cancellation of the JPSC Combined Civil Services Preliminary Exam and a re-test, with security arrangements approved by the court. 

According to the plea, the proposed committee should be headed by a former SC judge or a retired Chief Justice or a judge of a High Court (HC) from outside Jharkhand. It has also sought to rope in specialists in forensic science, information technology, examination security, OMR evaluation, cybersecurity and public administration. 

Towards the end, the PIL seeks an independent audit of the entire system used for OMR scanning, coding, evaluation and preparation of results. 

OMR sheet went viral online, sparking a row

The prelims exam had been conducted on April 19 this year, while its results were announced on July 2. As per the petition, the controversy escalated after a carbon copy of the OMR answer sheet, allegedly belonging to a qualified candidate surfaced on social media. The plea claims the candidate had attempted only 48 questions out of the 100 questions in Paper-I but was still declared qualified. 

Subsequently, the Commission asked the candidates who had been declared qualified in the exam to submit carbon copies of their OMR sheets for Paper I and Paper II between July 30 and August 5, 2026. 

Furthermore, the petition also sought the preservation and protection of all physical and electronic examination records, including original OMR sheets, candidates’ carbon copies, question papers, answer keys, attendance sheets, biometric records, CCTV footage, dispatch registers, examination-centre reports, scanning records, evaluation data and records pertaining to the preparation of results. 

Protest enters 15th day

Meanwhile, the students and job aspirants helming the stir against the alleged irregularities are demanding cancellation of the 14th JPSC Civil Services Examination and a fair probe either by the CBI or a panel of retired HC judges from outside Jharkhand. 

Notably, the protest saw its 15th day on Saturday, where six protestors continued their hunger strike.