Ranchi, November 6: The Jharkhand High Court on Friday set aside the state government's order cancelling the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission's Combined Graduate Level (JSSC CGL) examination and all appointments made through it, restoring the selections in a major relief for hundreds of appointed candidates, IANS reported. Justice Deepak Roshan delivered the verdict on petitions filed by successful candidates who had challenged the cancellation.

Source: IANS

The court also set aside the government's decision to cancel the recruitment advertisement for the appointments, ANI reported. The detailed written order is yet to be released.

Source: ANI

Why the exam was cancelled

The state government had, on August 18, cancelled the CGL examination, certain other recruitment tests and every appointment made through them, citing a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) investigation report and protests by aspirants who alleged large-scale irregularities in the recruitment process. The government told the court the process was marred by large-scale irregularities and systemic failures, and submitted a sealed report in support of its claim — an allegation the court's order does not endorse as a ground to cancel every appointment.

CID probe will continue

While restoring the appointments, the High Court made clear that the CID investigation into the alleged examination irregularities will continue unimpeded. The court had reserved its judgment on October 8 and on the same day continued an interim stay on the cancellation order, allowing the affected appointees to remain in service until the final verdict. Earlier, on September 18, the court had appointed retired judge Gautam Kumar Choudhary to monitor the probe, with retired IPS officer R.K. Mallik designated as its nodal officer.

Source: Nation Press

The ruling means candidates who were selected and appointed through the JSSC CGL process keep their jobs while investigators pursue the alleged irregularities against individuals, rather than the entire selection being annulled. What the government does next — including whether it challenges the order — will become clearer once the detailed judgment is released.