High Court of Jharkhand, Ranchi, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
The Jharkhand High Court has designated retired judge Gautam Kumar Chaudhary to hear complaints from candidates who feel harassed during the SIT investigation in the JSSC-CGL case.
Justice Deepak Roshan’s bench also named a retired IPS officer as nodal officer to assist Justice Chaudhary in this process.
The interim stay on cancelled JPSC, JSSC-CGL, CDPO and Food Safety Officer appointments remains in place, protecting 99 candidates.
The state government filed its affidavit today, appearing through senior advocate Meenakshi Arora and Solicitor General Rohitashya Roy.
Petitioners’ counsel were given 10 days to file counter-affidavits, with the case next listed for October 7.
Senior Supreme Court advocate Meenakshi Arora and Solicitor General Rohitashya Roy appeared for the state government at today’s hearing.
The government filed its affidavit responding to the appointment cancellation decision as part of today’s proceedings.
Petitioners’ counsel requested additional time to file counter-affidavits, which the court has allowed within 10 days of receiving notice copies.
The case also continues to cover cancelled recruitment advertisements for the JPSC’s 11th and 13th Civil Service examinations, CDPO and Food Safety Officer positions.
The cancellations trace back to an August 17 announcement by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, made after a 24-day student protest over alleged recruitment irregularities.
The government separately scrapped all examinations conducted by blacklisted agency TSR Data Processing Private Limited and ordered a CID probe into recruitment exams dating back to 2014.
A separate Supreme Court petition filed by activist Harisharan Devgan continues to seek a transfer of the investigation from the state CID to the CBI.
The next hearing in the Jharkhand High Court case has been scheduled for October 7, 2026.
Candidates affected by the cancellations have previously staged protests, including a human chain and torchlight demonstrations, since the case first began.
Justice Deepak Roshan’s bench at Tuesday’s earlier hearing had already rejected the government’s request for a week’s extension and questioned the pace of the CID investigation.
High Court of Jharkhand, Ranchi, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
