SUMAN K SHRIVASTAVA
Ranchi, Nov. 23: The Jharkhand High Court today summoned the CBI Investigating officer (IO) on December 15 to inform as to how much more time he will take to conclude the probe into the 1st and 2nd civil services examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC).
The CBI had registered 10 FIRs to probe into the illegality committed in different recruitment examinations, including 1st and 2nd civil services examinations on July 5, 2012.
In its status report filed on November 9, the CBI stated that the CBI has not applied or requested for a grant of sanction or prosecution of any public official involved in two cases -RC (05) A/2012 and RC (06) A/2012 as both the cases are under investigation.
A Division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra and Justice Ananda Sen, while hearing a PIL filed by Budhdeo Oraon, observed that it is a matter of concern that the CBI has not concluded its investigation after a lapse of 11 years.
The CBI asked CBI counsel Chandana Kumari as to how much more time the agency would take to conclude the investigation. After she said that she couldn’t give a deadline, the court directed the IO to appear with a deadline to conclude the investigation into the two cases.
Notably, job scams hogged the limelight after relatives of several JPSC members, politicians, top police officials and bureaucrats cleared the recruitment examinations held between 2003 and 2011.
The petitioner’s lawyer, Rajiv Kumar, said that the CBI has not even filed a chargesheet in both the above-noted cases.
CBI report reveals huge bungling
The CBI, in its probe, has found a huge bungling in the examinations relating to the 2nd and 1st Government Common Civil Services Examination conducted by the JPSC.
The CBI investigation, according to the status report submitted to the high court, disclosed that there is overwriting/cutting in the answer sheets of 69 nos. of successful candidates and the marks have been increased by such manipulation. The report further reveals that the marks awarded in interviews have been altered and increased for 28 nos. of successful candidates.
“The expert’s opinion of the Forensic Science Laboratory, Gujarat is available on the cutting/alteration marks in the answer sheets and marks of the interview prepared by the experts. The CBI has further intimated to us in the said report that three members of the interviewing board consist of the Chairman of the JPSC, the interview was for 200 marks,” the court said in its last order.
“The members of the interviewing board awarded marks average of the marks given by the three members was taken as the mark in the interview. There are many instances where there is a huge difference between the marks given by the members of the interviewing board to a particular candidate. Further during the investigation, it came to light that 08 nos. of evaluators their examinations admitted that they had increased the marks at the best of the Coordinator Professor Permanand Singh and Member C. Radha Govind Singh Nagesh, which implicates 12 candidates,” the court order said.
“The statements of the 08 nos. of Evaluators have been got recorded under the provisions of Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,” the court said.
