The controversy surrounding alleged irregularities in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) Combined Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2025 has escalated to the apex court. Social activist Harisharan Devgan has approached the Supreme Court by filing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) under Article 32 of the Constitution. The petition seeks an impartial, transparent, and time-bound investigation into the 2025 preliminary test through the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or an independent high-level inquiry committee. The petitioner contends that judicial oversight is essential to safeguard the career prospects of thousands of deserving civil service aspirants across the state.
Supreme Court PIL Demands CBI Investigation and Independent Audit
The PIL submitted to the Supreme Court goes beyond demanding an independent probe agency by emphasizing the necessity of a comprehensive technical audit of the evaluation mechanism. The petitioner has urged the court to mandate an independent audit covering every phase of the assessment system, including OMR sheet scanning, coding protocols, answer key evaluation, and result processing data. Furthermore, the petition requests a forensic and evidentiary assessment to determine whether legitimate candidates who cleared the examination on merit can be effectively segregated from those who benefited from fraudulent practices.
Mandatory Preservation of Physical and Electronic Examination Records
To prevent potential tampering or destruction of critical evidence during the ongoing dispute, the petition explicitly calls for strict court orders to secure and preserve all examination records. The prayer emphasizes preserving physical OMR answer sheets, candidate carbon copies, question booklets, official answer keys, attendance registers, biometric authentication logs, CCTV footage recorded across all examination centers, center superintendents' reports, scanning software logs, and all electronic databases utilized in compiling the final merit list.
The 48-Question OMR Controversy Triggering Public Outrage
The origin of the widespread discontent traces back to the JPSC Combined Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2025, which was conducted on April 19, 2026, with its preliminary results officially published on July 2, 2026. Following the result publication, the carbon copy of a successful candidate's OMR sheet began circulating widely on social media platforms. The viral document revealed that the candidate had answered merely 48 out of 100 questions in Paper 1, yet was declared successful in the official merit list. This revelation triggered intense public scrutiny regarding the integrity and transparency of the evaluation protocol.
CID Probe and Verification of Candidate Answer Sheets
Amid growing public uproar and demands for accountability, JPSC publicly announced that the Crime Investigation Department (CID) had initiated an official inquiry into the allegations. As part of the investigative measures, JPSC instructed all successful candidates to physically submit their original OMR carbon copies for both Paper-I and Paper-II to the commission for verification. The commission established a strict submission window spanning from July 30 to August 5, 2026, to facilitate detailed cross-verification of candidate credentials against official evaluation logs.
Ongoing Student Agitation and Hospitalization in Ranchi
Concurrently, student protests against the alleged exam malpractices have been intensifying across Ranchi. The agitation originally commenced on July 25, 2026, at Bapu Vatika before protesting aspirants mobilized at the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium. The demonstrating students are demanding the complete cancellation of the 14th JPSC examination, comprehensive recruitment reforms, and an independent judicial inquiry. During the prolonged hunger strike, protesting student Rahul suffered severe physical collapse and was urgently admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Sadar Hospital in Ranchi. The protesting delegates reaffirmed their resolve to sustain the agitation until the examination is formally annulled.
