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Jharkhand court denies bail to ex-JPSC chief Khiangte in exam irregularity case
Additional judicial commissioner Yogesh Kumar delivered the decision on after reserving judgment earlier in the week
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The special Criminal Investigation Department (CID) court in Ranchi dealing with the state civil service examination irregularity case on Saturday rejected the bail petition of former Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) chairman L Khiangte.
Additional judicial commissioner Yogesh Kumar delivered the decision on after reserving judgment earlier in the week.
The legal battle stems from a massive cash-for-jobs and recruitment paper leak case. On August 10, the state’s probe agency arrested Khiangte, a retired chief secretary of Jharkhand, following hours of intensive questioning.
Investigators allege that Khiangte bypassed open tender rules to award a highly sensitive exam management contract to a Lucknow-based firm, TSR Data Processing Private Limited (TDPL), on a nomination basis. Alarmingly, the company had already been blacklisted by the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) in 2025.
The CID claims that the former chairman accepted huge financial kickbacks to orchestrate the deal.
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During the court hearings, Khiangte’s legal team argued that the prosecution lacked concrete evidence. They maintained that multiple raids conducted at his official Kanke Road residence yielded no incriminating materials, declaring his arrest legally flawed. However, the prosecution strongly opposed the bail, presenting a detailed case diary that highlighted systematic OMR sheet manipulation and administrative compromises.
Khiangte’s arrest came a day after all three JPSC members resigned amid massive protests by aspirants over alleged irregularities in recruitment tests conducted by the agency. With Khiangte’s arrest, the number of people arrested by CID in this case has risen to 20.
Unshaken by the lower court’s setback, the defence is preparing to scale up its legal strategy. Speaking to the Hindustan Times, his advocate Chandana Kumari expressed her disappointment with the ruling. “We will move to the High Court for relief,” she stated, reaffirming that they will contest the allegations on superior legal grounds.
Meanwhile, the rejection leaves the high-profile bureaucrat in judicial custody as public outrage and student protests continue to demand an independent probe into the state’s examination system.
Students have been protesting over the alleged irregularities in the 14th JPSC examination, JSSC-CGL and other recruitment tests, demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe and reforms in the recruitment agencies.
The protesters demanded cancellation of the 14th JPSC Combined Preliminary Test held on April 19 and an independent probe by central agencies, including the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED), into alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted by the JPSC and JSSC. They are also demanding the introduction of a fifth option, “not attempted,” on OMR sheets.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) also backed the students’ protest against alleged irregularities in the recruitment exams conducted by the JPSC.
