Archive · 18 Aug 2026
Jharkhand Cancels JSSC-CGL Exams, Selected Candidates Protest Job Losses
In a state in India called Jharkhand, the government decided to cancel a big exam called JSSC-CGL.
Many students had been upset and protested for almost a month.
They said the exam was not fair because the paper leaked and some people were given the answers to memorize before the test.
So the government said all the exam results would be cancelled.
But the people who already passed the exam and got jobs are very worried.
Some people quit their old jobs to take these new ones, and now they may lose them.
A few are now too old to try for other government jobs.
They stood outside the government building in the city of Ranchi in the rain to complain.
They hope the government will listen and give them their jobs back.
The Jharkhand government, led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, cancelled the JSSC-CGL 2024 and other state exams after nearly a month of student protests over irregularities.
About 1,975 selected candidates, who fear losing their jobs, protested in heavy rain outside the Jharkhand Secretariat in Ranchi.
A CID investigation found candidates were made to memorise answers to 120 of 150 questions ahead of the exam, including in Hazaribagh, Bokaro, Asansol, and Nepal.
The Jharkhand High Court ordered appointment letters in December 2025, and the Supreme Court rejected cancelling the recruitment on January 5, 2026.
Selected candidates, such as Raghuvendra who resigned a teaching post in Gaya, say they are now past the age limit for new exams and are considering legal action.
- Who
- Chief Minister Hemant Soren's Jharkhand government; students who protested the exams; and roughly 1,975 selected candidates, including Raghuvendra, Sandeep Yadav, Lalan Pandey, and Gunjan Singh.
- What
- The cancellation of the JSSC-CGL 2024 and other state government exams over allegations of paper leaks, memorised answers, and other irregularities.
- When
- The cancellation was announced on a Monday, with candidates denied entry to offices the next day; it followed a Supreme Court ruling on January 5, 2026.
- Where
- Announced in Jharkhand, with protests outside the Jharkhand Secretariat in Ranchi; the irregularities probe spanned Hazaribagh, Bokaro, Asansol, and Nepal.
- Why
- Students demanded cancellation after a CID probe found candidates were given answers to memorise before the exam, casting doubt on the fairness of the recruitment.
Students Demanding Cancellation
Selected Candidates and Their Supporters
Fairness of the exams
Students Demanding Cancellation
Students say the JSSC-CGL 2024 was compromised by a paper leak and a scheme in which candidates memorised answers, so the results cannot be trusted and the exams should be cancelled.
Selected Candidates and Their Supporters
Selected candidates say they cleared a process upheld by the Jharkhand High Court and the Supreme Court, and many joined their posts only after those rulings, so cancelling now punishes them unfairly.
Trust in the courts
Students Demanding Cancellation
Protesters remain firm on demanding a CBI probe and believe the scale of irregularities justifies cancelling the exam even after earlier court verdicts.
Selected Candidates and Their Supporters
Candidates say that if recruitment can be cancelled 'even after the Supreme Court's ruling,' then no institution can be trusted, and they are considering legal action.
Impact on candidates' livelihoods
Students Demanding Cancellation
The government and students insist the irregular exams must be cancelled regardless, arguing the recruitment process was tainted by fraud.
Selected Candidates and Their Supporters
Candidates, some of whom resigned from earlier jobs such as a teaching post in Gaya and are past exam age limits, call the decision a 'gross injustice' and say they are left with nothing.
- Government
- Jharkhand, led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren
- Exams cancelled
- JSSC-CGL 2024 and other state government exams
- External exam agency
- TSR Data Processing Pvt Ltd (TDPL)
- Selected candidates affected
- 1,975 (approximately 2,000)
- Supreme Court ruling
- January 5, 2026 - rejected cancelling the recruitment
- High Court order
- December 2025 - issue appointment letters except to candidates under suspicion
- CID findings
- Candidates memorised answers to 120 of 150 questions before the exam
- Protest timeline
- Nearly month-long student protests preceded the cancellation