The Supreme Court on Monday (August 24, 2026) issued notice to the State of Jharkhand and the Jharkhand Public Service Commission on a petition seeking an independent, time-bound Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged malpractices in the Jharkhand Combined Civil Services Preliminary Examination.

A Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant was hearing a petition filed by activist Harisharan Devgan, represented by senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra and Satyam Singh Rajput.

Students had been protesting for over a month against alleged malpractices in the State-conducted exam, Mr. Mishra said.

It was imperative to have the allegations in the case probed by an independent agency, such as the CBI, rather than the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is currently investigating the case, he added. The petitioner sought an impartial probe into public officials and examination agencies.

Accountability should be fixed and wrongdoers brought to justice despite the State government’s move to cancel the examination, the petition argued.

The plea has urged the court to intervene and ensure that physical and digital evidence were secure and remain untampered. These include the original and candidate-held OMR carbon copies, CCTV footage, and server audit logs.

After the results were declared on July 2, 2026, a carbon copy of a candidate’s OMR answer sheet had gone viral online. The answer sheet allegedly showed irregularities in evaluation. The issue triggered protests and hunger strikes in the State, demanding an independent probe and structural reforms.