AMN / RANCHI
The Jharkhand High Court has stayed the state government’s decision to cancel the 11th, 12th, and 13th combined civil services examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC), along with the Food Safety Officer examination. The bench of Justice Deepak Roshan observed that candidates who have already cleared the examinations and received appointments cannot be removed from service merely because questions have been raised about the process. The court directed the government to file a detailed response and also ordered the constitution of a fast-track court to hear the matter further. The next hearing has been scheduled for September 15.
The petition challenging the government’s notification was filed by Deputy Collector Sonam Kumari and Saurabh Singh. Kumari, who had earlier resigned from a teaching post in Bihar after being selected through the JPSC exams, was appointed as Deputy Collector in Hazaribagh in November 2025. The petition argued that the government’s notification dated August 18, 2026, which annulled Advertisement No. 01/2024 and cancelled the examinations, was arbitrary and unjust.
The cancellation had left nearly 200 newly appointed Deputy Collectors in limbo, with their training abruptly halted midway. After completing initial training at the Shri Krishna Institute of Public Administration, they had been sent to districts for probationary assignments. Several probationary officers were deployed for law and order duties in places such as Baba Dham in Deoghar and Basukinath in Dumka. Following the cancellation, their appointments were technically void, and they were relieved of their duties. The High Court’s interim order has now provided relief to these officers, though uncertainty continues until the final verdict.