New Delhi — The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice on a petition seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged irregularities in the Jharkhand Combined Civil Services Preliminary Examination-2025, arguing that the matter requires an independent investigation beyond the state police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana issued the notice on a plea filed by social activist Harisharan Devgan.
The petitioner has sought an independent, impartial and time-bound CBI investigation into alleged malpractice in the preliminary examination conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) on April 19.
The plea argues that the allegations are wide-ranging and may involve several parts of the recruitment and examination system, including officials, examination-centre personnel, technical agencies, scanning and evaluation agencies and other service providers. On this ground, it seeks the transfer of the ongoing investigation from the state CID to the CBI.
According to the petition, the state CID has already registered a case and, during its investigation, asked successful candidates to provide their Paper-I and Paper-II OMR carbon copies.
The petitioner has claimed that these carbon copies could help investigators independently compare candidates’ marked answers with the original OMR sheets, scanned images, coding and decoding records, evaluation data and result-generation records maintained by the JPSC and agencies involved in conducting the examination.
The plea makes it clear that the demand for a CBI investigation is not based on any allegation against individual CID officers. Instead, it argues that the scale and nature of the allegations warrant an investigating agency that is independent of the state machinery connected with the examination.
The petitioner has also maintained that the subsequent cancellation of the preliminary examination should not bring the investigation to an end.
“Cancellation does not obviate the necessity for such independent investigation,” the plea states, arguing that it is still important to establish whether the examination process was compromised, how any alleged irregularities occurred and who, if anyone, was responsible.
A major concern raised in the petition is the preservation of examination records. The petitioner has sought immediate steps to secure all physical and electronic evidence, including original OMR sheets, candidate-held carbon copies, question papers, answer keys, attendance and biometric records, CCTV footage, examination-centre documents, scanning and coding records, evaluation data, server records, audit trails and result-generation information.
The plea has emphasised that such material should remain under a complete and auditable chain of custody. It has also warned that digital records may have limited retention periods and could potentially be altered, overwritten or deleted over time, making timely preservation important for any future investigation.
The petitioner has therefore sought urgent directions to ensure that all relevant examination material remains intact and available to investigators.
The case comes amid wider concerns over the credibility of competitive examinations and recruitment processes in Jharkhand. The petitioner has argued that an independent probe would help establish the facts, identify any lapses or malpractice and ensure that the investigation is capable of commanding public confidence.
The respondents in the matter include the Union of India, JPSC, Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission, the state of Jharkhand, the CBI and the Director General of Police, Criminal Investigation Department, Jharkhand.
Senior advocate and Bar Council of India Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra and advocate Satyam Singh Rajput appeared for the petitioner.
With inputs from IANS