A Public Interest Litigation has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the JPSC Prelims 2025, along with cancellation of the examination and conduct of a fresh preliminary examination.

The petition, filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, alleges irregularities in the conduct, custody and evaluation of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission's Combined Civil Services Preliminary Examination-2025, conducted on April 19, 2026.

Filed by Harisharan Devgan, the petition seeks an “independent, impartial, comprehensive and time-bound investigation” by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged irregularities.

Plea refers to viral OMR answer sheet

The petition comes in the backdrop of controversy following the declaration of the preliminary examination result on July 2, 2026.

It states that a carbon copy of the OMR answer sheet of a candidate who qualified in the examination subsequently went viral, leading to allegations concerning the evaluation process.

The petitioner refers to allegations that the candidate was declared qualified despite having answered only 48 out of 100 questions in Paper I.

The plea further states that the JPSC has itself acknowledged an ongoing investigation by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The Commission had also called upon candidates who qualified in the preliminary examination to submit carbon copies of their Paper I and Paper II OMR sheets between July 30 and August 5.

Student protests in Ranchi mentioned

The petition also refers to the student protests that followed the controversy.

According to the plea, the protests began at Bapu Vatika on July 25 and subsequently continued at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi. It also refers to student leader Devendra Nath Mahto being on hunger strike since August 3, with demands for an independent investigation and structural reforms in the recruitment system.

Fresh preliminary examination sought

Among the principal reliefs sought, the petitioner has asked the Supreme Court to direct the JPSC to cancel the Combined Civil Services Preliminary Examination–2025 conducted on April 19, 2026, and conduct a fresh preliminary examination thereafter, subject to safeguards approved by the Court.

The plea also seeks a direction to the CBI to take over and conduct an independent, impartial, comprehensive and time-bound investigation into the alleged irregularities.

Alternatively, the petitioner has sought the constitution of an independent committee headed by a retired Judge of the Supreme Court, or a retired Chief Justice/Judge of a High Court from outside the State of Jharkhand.

The proposed committee, according to the petition, should be assisted by experts in forensic science, information technology, examination security, OMR evaluation, cybersecurity and public administration to inquire into the integrity of the examination.

OMR scanning, evaluation systems to be independently audited

The petition further seeks independent audits of the OMR scanning, coding, evaluation and result-generation systems used in connection with the examination.

It also seeks a direction to the investigating agency or independent committee to determine "whether tainted and untainted candidates can reliably be separated on the basis of objective and verifiable material".

This relief has been sought in the context of the allegations concerning the integrity of the examination and the possibility of identifying candidates affected by any alleged irregularities.

Preservation of examination records sought

The petitioner has also sought directions to the JPSC and all connected agencies, contractors, service providers and examination-centre personnel to preserve all physical and electronic examination records.

The records specifically mentioned in the petition include original OMR sheets, candidate carbon copies, question papers, answer keys, attendance sheets, biometric records, CCTV footage, dispatch registers, examination-centre reports, scanning records, evaluation data and result-generation data, besides other connected documents.

The petition also seeks such other order or orders as the Supreme Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case.

The matter is being represented by Senior Advocate Ms. Sonia Mathur, along with Advocate Mr. Satyam Singh Rajput, Advocate Mr. Adarsh Singh and Advocate Ms. Muskan Singh, with Ms. Neema appearing as Advocate-on-Record before the Supreme Court of India.

Case Title: Harisharan Devgan v Union of India

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