Jharkhand HC Stays JPSC Exam Cancellation as Students Allege Government 'Deception'

The Jharkhand High Court on Thursday stayed the operation of notifications cancelling appointments made through the 11th and 13th Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) examinations, as well as the cancellation of appointments for food safety officers. The interim order came while the court was hearing a bunch of petitions challenging the state government's decision to scrap these recruitment processes.

Justice Deepak Roshan directed the state government to file its response by September 15, the next date of hearing. The court's decision has brought some relief to thousands of job aspirants who have been protesting against the cancellation of recruitment exams for weeks.

Reacting to the development, leaders of the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch accused the Jharkhand government of failing to defend its decision before the court. They alleged that neither the advocate general nor any senior advocate appeared on behalf of the government during the hearing. "The lawyers who were present did not utter a single word in defence. This clearly shows that this was a trap -- a trap to end the protest," said Kunal Pratap Singh, a leader of the Manch.

Another Manch leader, Ravindra Paswan, said the aspirants had initially trusted the government's promise to crack down on irregularities in recruitment examinations. "We believed in the government's intention and thought it wanted a crackdown on irregularities in recruitment examinations, but we were wrong. The government has deceived thousands of job aspirants," he said.

Paswan announced that the organisation would burn effigies of Chief Minister Hemant Soren across all 24 districts on Friday, in protest against the government's handling of the matter.

The allegations come after a prolonged protest by job aspirants at the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi, which lasted 26 days. The agitation was suspended for two months following the government's decision to cancel 22 recruitment examinations. The students had called off the protest after the government agreed to consider their demands, but the latest court developments have reignited their anger.

Meanwhile, Devendra Nath Mahto, a leader of the Jharkhand Lok Sangharsh Morcha (JLKM), who ended his 16-day fast, welcomed the court's decision. He said the movement was not directed against any candidate but against corruption and irregularities in the recruitment process. "We began the movement not against any candidate, but against corruption, irregularities, and systemic flaws in the recruitment exams process. Therefore, we remain firmly committed to our core demands," he said.

Mahto added that deserving and innocent candidates should get justice, but there would be no compromise on tackling corruption in recruitment procedures.

The high court's stay is a significant development in the ongoing controversy over the cancellation of recruitment exams in Jharkhand. The state government had earlier cancelled the exams citing alleged irregularities. The court's interim order means that appointments made through the 11th and 13th JPSC exams and the food safety officer recruitment will remain valid until further orders.

The matter is scheduled for further hearing on September 15, when the government is expected to present its arguments. Until then, the stay on the cancellation notifications remains in force. The government has not yet issued any official response to the court's order or the allegations made by the student leaders.