Jharkhand HC stays cancellation of 99 JSSC-CGL appointments

The Jharkhand High Court has stayed the state government's decision to cancel 99 appointments made through the JSSC-CGL recruitment examination. The court directed the state government and JSSC to respond by September 15, when the matter will be heard again

Ranchi: The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday stayed the state government’s order cancelling appointments made through the JSSC-CGL recruitment examination (Advertisement No. 10/2023), providing interim relief to 99 appointed candidates who had challenged the decision.

A bench of Justice Deepak Roshan passed the order while hearing a petition filed by candidate Akash Gaurav and 98 others.

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The court directed the Jharkhand government and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) to submit their responses by September 15. The next hearing in the matter has also been scheduled for the same date.

The petitioners were represented by senior counsel and former Advocate General Rajeev Ranjan, along with advocate Shreya Mishra. They have challenged the state government’s decision to cancel appointments made on the basis of the JSSC-CGL examination results.

The controversy stems from a major announcement made by the state government on August 18 following findings of a CID investigation into alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations.

The government had declared that all examinations in which the role of TDPL had surfaced would be cancelled. It also announced a wider probe into possible irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted since 2014.

Subsequently, the Department of Personnel, Administrative Reforms, and Official Language issued a notification outlining the action to be taken in various examinations. The notification provided for the cancellation of 22 examinations, suspension of the recruitment process in six others, and scrutiny of 17 examinations for alleged irregularities.

The JSSC-CGL examination has remained at the centre of the controversy, with disputes between candidates and the government over the recruitment process and subsequent appointments.

Following the challenge mounted by the appointed candidates, the High Court’s interim order has offered them temporary relief.

However, the final outcome regarding the validity of the appointments and allegations of irregularities in the examination process will depend on further proceedings and the responses to be filed by the state government and the JSSC before the court.