New Delhi: The Jharkhand High Court has put a brake on the cancellation of 22 recruitment exams, giving nearly 3,000 selected candidates a reprieve after the state government scrapped the tests over alleged paper leaks and irregularities.
The court also accepted the argument that cancelling entire examinations without giving individual candidates an opportunity to respond could violate principles of natural justice and constitutional protections under Articles 14 and 21. The examinations were conducted through private agency TSR Data Processing Pvt Ltd (TDPL) and were later scrapped by the Hemant Soren government following allegations of paper leaks and irregularities. The High Court has now allowed appointed candidates and successful recruits to resume their duties until the next hearing. The affected appointments include assistant professors, civil judges, food safety officers, deputy collectors and candidates selected through the JSSC-CGL examination. Their employment will continue while the court examines the legality of the state government’s decision. This gives the appointed candidates temporary protection from termination, although the final outcome will depend on further proceedings.
The High Court’s stay has therefore paused the immediate cancellation of the 22 examinations, while the fate of the appointments will depend on the court proceedings, investigation reports and the government’s proposed examination reforms.
