SHAKEEL AKHTER
Ranchi, August 24: The Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) has once again come under scrutiny for failing to release the cut-off marks of candidates declared successful in the 11th to 13th Civil Services Examinations. This marks the second time results have been published without disclosing the cut-off, in clear violation of the commission’s own transparency rules.
Previous Court Warning Ignored
Earlier, in a similar case, the Jharkhand High Court had warned that withholding cut-off marks would amount to contempt of court. Following that intervention, the JPSC was compelled to release the cut-off scores for the 7th–10th examinations, along with the marks of successful candidates.
Rules Mandate Transparency
According to the commission’s transparency guidelines, issued in 2015 under Office Order No. 2/Pari, JPSC-4/2014/137, the marks of both successful and unsuccessful candidates must be made public. The rules also require the commission to disclose the reasons for application rejections, upload the scanned copy of recommendations sent to government departments, and publish category-wise cut-off marks and the final list of recommended candidates on its official website. All such information must remain accessible online for at least 60 days.
Appointments Proceed Without Disclosure
Despite these clear provisions, the JPSC has not yet uploaded the required details for the 11th to 13th Civil Services Examinations. At the same time, it has proceeded with recommending appointments, and the verification of documents submitted by successful candidates is already in its final stages.
High Court’s Earlier Order
Previously, many candidates had approached the High Court over the commission’s failure to release cut-off marks for the 7th–10th examinations. Hearing the petitions, Justice S.N. Pathak ordered on December 20, 2022 that category-wise cut-off scores, along with the marks of successful candidates, must be published online in the interest of transparency. The court had further ruled that failure to do so within the stipulated timeframe would be treated as contempt. Only after this order did JPSC make the information public.
Fresh Concerns Among Aspirants
With the commission now repeating the same omission for the 11th and 13th examinations, students and aspirants fear yet another round of legal battles may follow.