Jharkhand Exam Row: Supreme Court to Hear CBI Probe Plea on August 24

The Supreme Court of India is scheduled to hear on Monday, August 24, 2026, a public interest litigation seeking an independent, time-bound investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into alleged irregularities in the Jharkhand Combined Civil Services Preliminary Examination. The plea, filed by social activist Harisharan Devgan through advocate Satyam Singh Rajput, raises serious concerns about the transparency and credibility of the recruitment process.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana is expected to take up the petition, which has been filed under Article 32 of the Constitution. The petitioner has urged the court to intervene in what he describes as a matter of substantial public interest affecting the integrity of a state-level examination conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC).

The examination in question was held on April 19, 2026, pursuant to Advertisement No. 01/2026. Allegations of malpractice have emerged, prompting the petitioner to seek a transfer of the investigation from the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to the CBI. The plea argues that an impartial probe is necessary because the allegations may involve public officials and examination agencies at multiple levels.

The petitioner has submitted that the controversy should not be treated merely as a dispute concerning individual candidates or isolated cases of malpractice. Instead, the allegations require a comprehensive examination of the entire examination chain — from the preparation and printing of question papers, coding, storage, transportation, and distribution, to the conduct of the examination, collection and custody of OMR sheets, scanning, coding, decoding, evaluation, storage and access to electronic data, and finally the generation and publication of results.

In addition to seeking a CBI inquiry, the plea has asked the court to direct authorities to immediately secure all physical and digital evidence, including original and candidate-held OMR carbon copies, CCTV footage, and server audit logs, to prevent any tampering. The petitioner has stressed that the mere existence of allegations or public protests cannot, by itself, justify the cancellation of an examination. Therefore, the primary relief sought is not cancellation but an impartial and time-bound investigation to objectively determine the nature, extent, mechanism, and impact of the alleged irregularities.

The plea further states that the consequential question — whether the preliminary examination can be safely relied upon for public appointments — must be decided only after the investigation yields objective and scientifically verifiable evidence. The petitioner has framed this as a constitutional question: 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 results to form the lawful basis for public appointments.

The Supreme Court’s hearing comes amid public scrutiny of the examination process in Jharkhand. The petitioner’s advocate has requested an urgent listing, citing the need for swift action to preserve evidence and maintain public confidence in the recruitment system. As of now, the State CID has been looking into the matter, but the petitioner argues that a central agency like the CBI is better equipped to conduct an independent and thorough investigation, especially when allegations may involve state-level officials.

Legal observers note that the Supreme Court’s decision on whether to entertain the plea and potentially transfer the investigation to the CBI will have significant implications for the transparency of public examinations across the country. The court is expected to consider the petitioner’s arguments and the response of the Jharkhand government and the JPSC during Monday’s hearing.

This report will be updated as further details emerge from the court proceedings.