Earlier, the Patna High Court had also dismissed the plea to cancel the exam. While doing so, the court had instructed BPSC to make “foolproof security arrangements” to ensure transparency and fairness in the conduct of the examination.
NEW DELHI: Today, 16th April, The Supreme Court of India has declined to hear a petition that sought the cancellation of the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) 70th Main Examination. The petition was filed over alleged irregularities in the preliminary exam.
However, the top court, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjeev Khanna, stated that the issue will be “listed later”, meaning it might be heard at a future date.
During the hearing, the lawyer representing the petitioner requested an early hearing. He informed the bench that the main examination is about to begin soon, and therefore it should be postponed or stopped. But the Supreme Court did not agree to take up the matter urgently and refused to intervene at this stage.
The CJI-led bench clearly stated, “The matter will be listed later”, declining the demand for immediate cancellation of the exam.
As per the schedule released by the BPSC, the main written examination is set to begin from April 25 and will continue till April 30, 2025.
The admit cards have already been issued by the Commission. On the first day, April 25, the exam will be held in two shifts —
- First shift: 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM
- Second shift: 2 PM to 5 PM
Earlier, the Patna High Court had also dismissed the plea to cancel the exam. While doing so, the court had instructed BPSC to make “foolproof security arrangements” to ensure transparency and fairness in the conduct of the examination. Additionally, the court asked for the formation of a “high-level committee” to oversee the examination process and avoid any malpractice.
The controversy began when a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed on 13 December 2024 by an organisation named Anand Legal and Forum. The PIL raised serious concerns over how the BPSC preliminary exam for civil service recruitment was conducted.
The petitioner alleged that private coaching institutes were called in by the Commission before the preliminary exam, and “discussed matters related to the examination”.
The PIL pointed out that, “This has happened for the first time in the country. Usually, no commission shares such confidential information before the examination.”
According to the petitioners, this kind of interaction between BPSC and coaching institutes gave “special benefits” to some students.
They argued that this could “raise questions on the fairness of the examination“, and therefore, the exam process should not go forward without proper review.
Despite these concerns, the BPSC has moved ahead with preparations for the main exam, and there is currently no stay on its schedule.
Earlier, 14 petitions were submitted in the Patna High Court, all asking for the cancellation and re-exam of the 70th BPSC PT exam. The court combined all these petitions into one case.
On January 16, a single bench of Justice Arvind Singh Chandel listened to a different petition related to the BPSC exam process. This petition was filed by Pappu Kumar and others.
The bench asked BPSC and the Bihar government to file affidavits in response. These replies were submitted on January 31.
The bench did not stop the declaration of exam results but made it clear that the final decision of the case will decide whether the BPSC PT results are valid or not.
The order to keep CCTV footage safe is an important step to maintain fairness and transparency in the BPSC exam process, especially because there have been allegations of irregularities.
