The Jharkhand government on Monday cancelled the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) examination and scrapped all tests, results and selections linked to the private agency TSR Data Processing Private Limited (TDPL), yielding to a 24-day agitation by job aspirants over alleged irregularities in recruitment exams.
The decision was taken during a marathon special Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Hemant Soren at the state secretariat. The meeting lasted several hours amid sustained pressure from protesting students, who have been holding a sit-in at Ranchi’s Jaipal Singh Munda Ground since late July, and growing political scrutiny.
Addressing reporters after the meeting, Soren said the government had examined findings from ongoing probes by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and the Crime Investigation Department (CID). “The government has decided to cancel the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission-Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) exam, which was one of the major demands of the protesting students. We have also decided to cancel all tests conducted by outsourced agency TDPL (TSR Data Processing Pvt Ltd) and the results published by it,” he stated.
He further announced that “everything associated with TDPL - including the examinations conducted, the results published, the candidates selected or who participated, and all other activities carried out by TDPL” stood cancelled. Soren added that investigations had brought “shocking revelations” to light and directed a comprehensive probe into all competitive examinations held in the state since 2014. A high-level committee headed by senior IAS officer Amitabh Kaushal will recommend reforms to strengthen the examination system.
The protests began on July 25 over allegations of paper leaks and malpractice in JPSC and JSSC exams. Students had demanded cancellation of the JSSC-CGL exam (linked to recruitment for roughly 2,000 posts), scrapping of TDPL-related processes, and a CBI inquiry. While the Cabinet accepted the cancellation demands, it stopped short of ordering a CBI probe, opting instead for a CID investigation covering the period from 2014 onward. The government had earlier cancelled certain JPSC examinations on August 9.
Soren noted that established standard operating procedures had been “blatantly ignored” in past exams and said the state had already enacted the Jharkhand Competitive Examination (Prevention and Redressal of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Act to address such issues. He stressed the need for transparency and reforms, adding that a portal had been opened for suggestions from students, teachers and parents.
The announcement was welcomed by many protesting aspirants, with student leader Devendra Nath Mahato ending his hunger strike. However, candidates who had already cleared the JSSC-CGL exam and joined government jobs expressed concern, forming human chains and appealing against any hasty step that could affect their appointments. Some protesters indicated the agitation would continue until a CBI probe is ordered.
The decision came ahead of a planned gherao of the Chief Minister’s residence and followed a letter from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi urging Soren to meet student representatives and resolve their grievances.
