The Jharkhand High Court has observed that the state government cannot remove candidates who have already been appointed to various departments through a notification alone, without following the principles of natural justice.
Justice Deepak Roshan also indicated that all the appointments cannot be treated as wrong together, drawing a line between procedural lapses and individual culpability.
The interim stay on the cancellation of the JPSC, JSSC CGL, CDPO and Food Safety Officer appointments therefore remains in force.
The state filed its affidavit on Friday, defending the cancellation on the ground of alleged malpractice and irregularities.
The case will be heard next on October 7, after petitioners file their counter-affidavits.
The observations came during Friday’s hearing before Justice Deepak Roshan in the case titled Subhash Murmu and others versus the State of Jharkhand, registered as W.P.(S) No. 6512 of 2026.
The interim stay continues on the cancellation of the JPSC 11th to 13th Combined Civil Service Examinations, JSSC CGL, CDPO and Food Safety Officer appointments.
Reports say the interim stay was first granted around August 20, 2026, and the court has now kept it in force until the next hearing.
The state filed its affidavit on September 18, saying the cancellation was warranted because of alleged malpractice and irregularities.
According to a Live Dainik report of the affidavit, the state said a JPSC exam and the resulting appointments take two to three years to complete.
The same report said the state argued that cancelling about 2,700 appointments in one stroke would lead to job losses for many state officers.
Senior advocate Meenakshi Arora and the Advocate General represented the state, and JPSC was represented by its own counsel.
Senior advocate Rajiv Ranjan, a former Advocate General of Jharkhand, appeared for the candidates along with several other advocates.
The petitioners were given time to file counter-affidavits, which the court has allowed within 10 days of receiving copies of the notices.
High Court of Jharkhand, Ranchi, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
