In a major decision concerning the integrity of recruitment examinations in Jharkhand, the State Government has cancelled a number of examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and has ordered investigations into alleged irregularities in several other recruitment examinations. The Government’s August 18 decisions came against the backdrop of a sustained student movement in Jharkhand over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted by JPSC and JSSC.
The decisions were formally notified by the Department of Personnel, Administrative Reforms and Rajbhasha, Government of Jharkhand, through a series of notifications dated 18 August 2026. The notification also refers to examinations conducted through TDPL and other agencies.
The first set of notifications concerns examinations conducted by JPSC through TDPL.
Among the examinations cancelled are recruitment examinations for:
These examinations were cancelled on the basis of facts placed before the State Government in connection with the CID investigation into complaints of irregularities.
A second notification extends the cancellation to several significant recruitment examinations, including examinations for Civil Judge (Junior Division), Assistant Conservator of Forest, Forest Range Officer, and Assistant Public Prosecutor.
The list also includes:
The cancellation of the Civil Judge (Junior Division) recruitment examination is particularly significant because judicial-service recruitment forms an important component of the State’s institutional recruitment process.
The Government has also cancelled three other examinations:
The notification states that these decisions have been taken in light of facts brought before the Government during the CID investigation into complaints concerning irregularities.
The Government has not cancelled every examination that has come under scrutiny.
In another notification, the State Government has directed that the examination process relating to six recruitments be kept suspended until further orders.
These include:
According to the notification, preliminary work for these examinations was conducted by an agency separate from TDPL. In view of the facts emerging from the CID investigation, the Government has decided to have the credentials of the agency associated with the preliminary examination examined by the CID. Until further orders, the examination process has therefore been kept in abeyance.
This distinction is important: these six examinations have been suspended, not cancelled, according to the notification.
The Government has adopted another approach in respect of several older examinations.
A separate notification lists 17 examinations for which the State Government has decided to have the possibility of irregularities investigated by the Crime Investigation Department (CID).
The list stretches across recruitment exercises conducted over several years, including:
Thus, the Government’s action is not confined to ongoing examinations. The notification specifically brings a number of past recruitment examinations under the scope of a CID investigation.
The Government has separately cancelled the 6th Limited Deputy Collector Recruitment Examination, Advertisement No. 11/2018, and the Jharkhand Eligibility Test 2024, Advertisement No. 08/2025.
The notification states that these examinations were affected by the involvement, either wholly or partly, of TDPL or another disputed agency and by the facts emerging from the ongoing CID investigation concerning JPSC.
The Government has also acted against the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).
The notification specifically cancels the CGL Examination, Advertisement No. 10/2023, conducted by JSSC.
According to the notification, the decision follows the investigation of an SIT constituted in relation to complaints of irregularities in the CGL examination, along with the ongoing CID investigation concerning JPSC.
The cancellation therefore marks a significant development beyond JPSC and indicates that concerns regarding examination integrity have also reached the State’s staff-selection recruitment process.
The final notification is significant because it moves beyond individual examinations and proposes institutional measures for JPSC and JSSC.
The State Government has decided to take several steps.
1. Request for a Fast Track Court
The Government will request the High Court to establish a Fast Track Court for hearing cases arising from alleged irregularities and misconduct in JPSC and JSSC.
The stated objective is to facilitate speedy adjudication of cases connected with examination irregularities.
2. Internal vigilance mechanism
The Government has also decided to establish an internal vigilance cell in JPSC and JSSC.
The proposed mechanism is intended to create an institutional structure for monitoring and addressing irregularities within the examination bodies.
3. Committee to study examination reforms
The Government has further decided to constitute a committee under the chairmanship of Shri Amitabh Kaushal, IAS, to undertake a detailed study concerning examination reforms in JPSC and JSSC.
According to the notification, the committee will include other officials as well as a member from the director-level of a reputed institution.
The committee has been given two months to submit its report to the Government.
The notification represents a substantial administrative response to allegations concerning the integrity of recruitment examinations in Jharkhand.
It is important, however, to distinguish between the different actions taken by the Government. The notification does not treat every examination in the same manner.
There are essentially three categories of action:
First, examinations that have been cancelled. These include numerous recent and past JPSC examinations, as well as the JSSC CGL Examination 2023 and the Jharkhand Eligibility Test 2024.
Second, examinations that have been suspended pending further investigation. Six recruitments have been placed in this category while the credentials of the agency associated with their preliminary examinations are examined.
Third, earlier examinations in respect of which the Government has ordered investigation into possible irregularities. Seventeen examinations have been placed under this investigative framework.
This distinction is important for candidates because cancellation, suspension and investigation are not legally or administratively identical consequences.
Competitive examinations conducted for public employment are not merely administrative exercises. They determine access to public employment and therefore directly implicate the principles of fairness, equality of opportunity and transparency in public recruitment.
Any allegation of manipulation, irregularity or malpractice can therefore have consequences extending beyond individual candidates. At the same time, candidates who have invested years preparing for examinations may also face significant uncertainty when an examination is cancelled or suspended.
The Government’s final notification appears to recognise both sides of this problem by combining immediate action against examinations under scrutiny with proposed institutional reforms for JPSC and JSSC.
The proposed Fast Track Court, internal vigilance mechanism and examination-reform committee indicate that the Government is seeking not merely to address individual examination controversies but also to examine the system through which recruitment examinations are conducted.
The Government’s August 18 decisions came against the backdrop of a sustained student movement in Jharkhand over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted by JPSC and JSSC.
Hundreds of aspirants had gathered in Ranchi and begun an indefinite protest over alleged irregularities in the 14th JPSC examination, JSSC-CGL and other recruitment examinations. The protesters demanded greater transparency in the recruitment process and sought an independent CBI investigation into the alleged irregularities.
The agitation intensified in the first half of August. Students organised demonstrations and a torchlight march in Ranchi, while student leader Devendra Nath Mahto began a hunger strike. The protesters alleged irregularities not merely in question papers but also in aspects of the recruitment and evaluation process, and called for accountability and systemic reforms.
By August 17, when the State Cabinet announced the cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination, the student agitation had become a major issue surrounding the State’s recruitment system. Reports at the time described the Cabinet decision as coming amid the continuing student protests over alleged examination irregularities.
The sequence is therefore significant. The student movement created sustained public pressure for action, while the Government’s formal notifications relied upon the findings and facts emerging from the ongoing CID/SIT investigations. The August 18 notification consequently represents both an administrative response to the investigation and the culmination of an intense public debate over the credibility of Jharkhand’s recruitment examinations.
The distinction also matters because the students’ principal demand was an independent CBI probe, whereas the Government’s notifications continue to place considerable reliance on investigations by the CID and SIT. Thus, although the Government has acted against several examinations and announced reforms, the question of whether the protesters’ demand for an independent investigation has been fully addressed remains separate from the cancellation decisions themselves.
The continuing agitation also demonstrates why the issue extends beyond the fate of individual examinations. For thousands of aspirants, the controversy concerns the credibility of the entire public recruitment mechanism and whether future examinations can be conducted through a process perceived as transparent, secure and fair.
The 18 August 2026 notifications constitute a major development in the recruitment-examination framework of Jharkhand.
The Government has cancelled multiple JPSC examinations, ordered investigation into a number of earlier recruitment exercises, suspended six examinations pending examination of the concerned agency’s credentials, and cancelled the JSSC CGL Examination 2023.
At the institutional level, the Government has proposed a Fast Track Court for cases concerning examination irregularities, internal vigilance cells in JPSC and JSSC, and a committee headed by Amitabh Kaushal, IAS, to recommend broader examination reforms within two months.
The immediate consequence will be uncertainty for thousands of candidates connected with the affected examinations. The longer-term significance, however, may lie in whether the proposed reforms succeed in restoring confidence in the transparency, reliability and fairness of the State’s public recruitment system.
For candidates, the next crucial question will be what happens to the affected vacancies and whether fresh recruitment examinations will be conducted. The notification itself, however, does not set out a detailed schedule or procedure for fresh examinations or the future course of each cancelled recruitment process.
Written by Jeet Sinha.
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