Exams
HC: Innocent JSSC CGL candidates must not be harassed during SIT probe
Justice Deepak Roshan said issuing a summons does not mean a person is guilty, told candidates to cooperate with the SIT, and directed that innocent appointees must not face harassment during the JSSC CGL probe.
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