Ranchi, Aug 2026 : The Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand on Monday announced the cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination conducted in 2024, accepting the principal demand of students who have been protesting against alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations for the past 24 days.
The government also cancelled all competitive examinations conducted in the state by the agency TDPL, marking a major decision amid the prolonged agitation by aspirants demanding greater transparency and accountability in the recruitment process.
The decisions were taken at a special Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The meeting continued for around four-and-a-half hours before the Chief Minister addressed the media and announced the measures.
Soren said the government had already agreed during earlier discussions with protesting students to cancel the 14th JPSC Preliminary Test and backlog civil service examinations. With Monday’s decision, the government has now expanded its scrutiny of the recruitment system by ordering a comprehensive investigation into examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) from 2014 onwards.
According to the Chief Minister, investigations conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and Crime Investigation Department (CID) into alleged irregularities in the JSSC-CGL examination had revealed several serious findings. These included alleged collusion involving multiple agencies associated with the examination process.
In view of the findings, the government decided that cancelling the examination was necessary. Soren said the investigation would not be restricted to the JSSC-CGL examination but would examine the recruitment process over the entire period from 2014 to the present.
The government will seek to identify those responsible for irregularities and take appropriate action against them, the Chief Minister said.
As part of efforts to overhaul the examination system, the state government has also constituted a committee headed by IAS officer Amitabh Kaushal. The committee will examine the existing examination framework, identify shortcomings and recommend reforms.
The government has additionally invited suggestions from the public regarding changes required in the competitive examination system through an online portal.
Soren said the objective of the reforms would be to ensure that there is no scope for malpractice at any stage of the recruitment process. Greater transparency will be introduced in areas including examination management, question-paper security, the functioning of agencies involved in conducting examinations, evaluation and declaration of results.
The Chief Minister stressed that the state has enacted stringent laws to protect the interests of students and possesses the necessary mechanisms to enforce them. He said the government would not allow the future and confidence of Jharkhand’s youth to be compromised.
During the prolonged agitation, representatives of the protesting students held discussions with government ministers and reached an understanding on several issues concerning examination reforms. The government said these agreed measures would now be implemented.
Jharkhand already has a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) governing competitive examinations. According to Soren, strict adherence to the existing SOP could have prevented the irregularities. The government will therefore strengthen the SOP by incorporating additional safeguards.
The cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination is being seen as a major victory for the protesting students, who had maintained pressure on the government through their 24-day agitation.
However, one of the students’ key demands remains unresolved. The government has not yet decided whether to hand over the alleged recruitment examination irregularities to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The decision is expected to remain an important point of discussion as the government and protesting students continue their engagement over the future of Jharkhand’s competitive examination system.
