In a major legal relief for thousands of state recruits, the Jharkhand High Court on Thursday stayed the state government’s notification cancelling appointments made through the 11th to 13th Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) examinations.
The court’s intervention comes closely on the heels of the state personnel department’s decision to scrap 22 recruitment examinations and order investigations into 23 others following alleged irregularities. The state cabinet’s move had put over 2,600 working government employees at immediate risk of losing their jobs, triggering widespread outrage and public demonstrations outside Ranchi’s Project Bhawan.
Affected candidates quickly moved the high court while staging peaceful protests across the state. Protesters clarified that while they support a thorough investigation into corruption, blanket cancellations unfairly penalize candidates selected purely on merit. They urged the administration to target specific individuals guilty of malpractice rather than revoking the results entirely.
With the High Court putting the cancellation notification on hold, the state government now faces intense judicial scrutiny over its sweeping decision as the ongoing Crime Investigation Department (CID) probe continues.
