The Jharkhand High Court has said innocent candidates must not be harassed during the SIT probe into the JSSC CGL recruitment.

Petitioners had told the court that the SIT was questioning several innocent students repeatedly.

Justice Deepak Roshan said a summons does not by itself mean guilt.

Candidates were also directed to cooperate with the investigation.

Retired judge Gautam Kumar Chaudhary will monitor the probe, and the next hearing is on October 7.

The court directed that no successful candidate should face mental or administrative distress during the inquiry.

Candidates were also told to cooperate with the investigation while being protected from exploitation.

Retired High Court judge Gautam Kumar Chaudhary has been appointed to monitor the SIT investigation and to hear complaints from candidates.

A retired IPS officer, named in reports as R.K. Malik, has been designated nodal officer to coordinate between the SIT and Justice Chaudhary.

The monitoring arrangement operates independently of the court’s own proceedings and is meant to keep the investigation transparent.

The concern covers candidates whose appointments were cancelled and then restored after the High Court’s interim orders.

The interim stay on the cancellation of JPSC, JSSC CGL, CDPO and Food Safety Officer appointments continues.

The state had earlier ordered a CID probe into recruitment examinations dating back to 2014, and the SIT has been questioning suspects.

The next hearing is scheduled for October 7, 2026, at 11:30 am.

Under criminal procedure, a summons is a formal request to appear and give information, and it is not an accusation or a finding of wrongdoing.

Justice Deepak Roshan made the remarks at the September 18 hearing in the case titled Subhash Murmu and others versus the State of Jharkhand.

The court said investigating agencies may need to summon many people in order to reach a logical conclusion, and receiving a summons should not lead to that person being treated as guilty.

Jharkhand Police flag (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, CC0

The NEET UG Counselling 2026 Round 2 reporting and joining process concludes today, September 18, according to the MCC’s official schedule.

The Round 2 final seat allotment result was released on September 12, opening the reporting window that closes today.

Document verification for Round 2 allottees will follow on September 19.

Candidates who do not complete their reporting formalities by today risk losing their allotted seat.

The MCC has announced that NEET UG Round 3 registration will run from September 22 to 27 on mcc.nic.in.

Candidates who fail to complete reporting and joining by the Round 2 deadline risk forfeiting their allotted seat under MCC rules.

NEET UG counselling is conducted centrally by the Medical Counselling Committee for all India quota seats and deemed/central universities.

State-level counselling authorities separately manage state quota seats, running on their own parallel schedules alongside the central MCC process.

The seat allotment process factors in candidates’ NEET UG rank, category, and choices filled during registration to determine college and course allocation.

Candidates are advised to carry all required original documents, including admit cards, mark sheets, category certificates and identity proof, during physical reporting.

Round 3 will offer another opportunity for candidates who did not secure a seat in Rounds 1 or 2, or who wish to upgrade their allotted seat.

Medical aspirants have been advised to regularly check the MCC website for updates, as counselling schedules can shift based on seat availability and court directions.

The Medical Counselling Committee released the NEET UG Counselling 2026 Round 2 final seat allotment result on September 12.

Candidates who received seats in Round 2 must complete their reporting and joining formalities at their allotted colleges by today, September 18.

Document verification for Round 2 allottees is scheduled to be conducted on September 19, the day after the reporting deadline.

Medical college students (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, GODL-India

The Jharkhand High Court has appointed retired judge Gautam Kumar Chaudhary to address complaints from JSSC-CGL candidates facing harassment during the SIT investigation.

Justice Deepak Roshan’s bench also named a retired IPS officer as nodal officer to assist in this complaint redressal process.

The interim stay on cancelled JPSC, JSSC-CGL, CDPO and Food Safety Officer appointments remains active, protecting 99 candidates.

The state government submitted its affidavit today, appearing through senior advocate Meenakshi Arora and Solicitor General Rohitashya Roy.

Petitioners’ counsel were allowed 10 days to file counter-affidavits, with the case next set for October 7.

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.

The interim stay protecting appointments made under Advertisement No. 10/2023 continues to shield 99 candidates, in a case filed by Akash Gaurav and 98 others.

High Court of Jharkhand, Ranchi, Wikimedia Commons, CC0