SUMAN K SHRIVASTAVA
Ranchi, Nov. 22: 11 years after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered an FIR into the illegality committed in different recruitment examinations, including 1st and 2nd civil services examinations, the probe is still on.
The CBI has informed the Jharkhand High Court, which ordered the central agency to probe the job scam on July 5, 2012, that the investigation is still under process.
CBI DIG Abhishek Shandilya, in a status report, filed on November 9, 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 had asked the CBI to give a specific report as to whether the CBI has applied for a grant of sanction against the public officials involved in the case.
“As regards other JPSC recruitment scam cases for different posts sanctions for prosecution were sought against different public servants and the competent authorities accorded those sanctions. At present no request for a grant of sanction is pending,” the DIG has added.
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 CBI, in its probe, 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.
“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.
Notably, the Jharkhand High Court while hearing a PIL filed by one Budhdeo Oraon put the CBI on the job to conduct thorough investigations into the alleged deceitful appointments.
Responding to the high court’s order, the CBI on July 5, 2012, had registered 10 FIRs to probe into the illegality committed in different recruitment examinations, including 1st and 2nd civil services examinations.
However, some of the aggrieved successful candidates of the 2nd civil services examination moved the apex court challenging the high court’s order instituting a CBI probe into the matter. The Supreme Court had then stalled the CBI probe in 2014.
However, the Supreme Court on January 28 2017 gave its nod to the CBI to resume its investigation into scams of 16 different examinations conducted by the JPSC.
