6 min readRanchiUpdated: Aug 18, 2026 06:38 AM IST
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday said the state Cabinet has decided to cancel the result for the JSSC-CGL examination, and all exams conducted by testing agency TDPL, in a bid to end a deadlock that has embroiled his government for weeks now. He also ordered a probe into examinations conducted by the state government since 2014.
Soren said ongoing investigations had revealed “shocking” facts and suggested a larger network involving companies linked to the examinations. Earlier in the day, alliance partner Congress had urged Soren to engage with protesting students.
The protesters, however, said they would continue their agitation as long as their demand for a CBI probe into all exams in question remains unfulfilled.
The Soren government’s latest decision was, meanwhile, met with resistance from another quarter: those who had qualified for the now-cancelled exam. A group of candidates who had secured government jobs gathered outside Project Bhavan, arguing that they should not be made to suffer for alleged irregularities for which they were not responsible. The administration deployed security personnel as the candidates continued their protest late in the night.
Addressing the media after a special Cabinet meeting at the Jharkhand Secretariat, Soren explained that his government had decided to cancel the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission-Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) examination after examining the facts emerging from the ongoing investigations.
He said the probe so far had raised concerns as some candidates appointed through the examination were later arrested in connection with alleged irregularities in the JPSC recruitment process. He also referred to companies that had worked with the examination system at different points, saying a larger network appeared to be involved.
The latest development marks a departure from his government’s earlier stand. Earlier this month, the government had said it could not cancel the CGL exam results as the process was conducted under the monitoring of the Supreme Court and High Court.
Following Soren’s decision, student leader Ravindra Paswan said, “We have won a major battle, but there is more to be done. We want to thank CM Soren for listening to our demands after 24 days. However, the question still remains that until a CBI probe is ordered, we will continue our hunger strike.”
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Crucially, Soren has announced the cancellation of all examinations conducted by TSR Data Processing Private Limited (TDPL), along with results published by the company and selections made through those examinations. He said all activities associated with TDPL would be cancelled.
He said his government would work towards making the recruitment process more transparent. The government has decided to constitute a committee headed by IAS officer Amitabh Kaushal to work on education reforms in consultation with institutions, experts and other stakeholders. The government has also opened a portal where students, teachers and parents can submit suggestions on examination reforms.
The JSSC CGL-2023 recruitment was notified in 2023 for various Group B and Group C posts in Jharkhand government departments, with around 6.4 lakh candidates applying for the regular and backlog examinations.
The exam, initially scheduled in January 2024, was cancelled following allegations of a paper leak and was subsequently held in September 2024.
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Around 1,975 candidates have been appointed since the recruitment process, and it has been nearly nine months since employees joined their jobs.
Earlier in the day, the Congress, an ally of Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), had sent a message to the ruling government with Rahul Gandhi urging the CM to hear the protesters out and take appropriate action.
A senior Congress leader told The Indian Express that while the JMM was a “strong ally”, the Grand Old party did not want students to feel that the Congress is not with them.
In his letter to Soren that the Congress shared on social media, Gandhi wrote, “The Congress party believes that the right to peaceful protest as enshrined in the Constitution of India is one of the central pillars of our democracy. We have, therefore, offered our full support to students protesting paper leaks and irregularities in the education system over the last few months. It is also our belief that the Indian education system has been captured by the RSS and BJP and transformed into a tool for the exploitation and oppression of students. It is no longer the robust knowledge system that it used to be a decade ago.”
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“As you are aware, students in Jharkhand have also been protesting irregularities in the State recruitment examinations. Their protest has been peaceful, and their demands are legitimate. I appreciate that the Jharkhand government has begun a dialogue with them through a committee instituted by you. I believe that there is also agreement on several demands raised by the students. However, the protests continue, and some students remain on an indefinite hunger strike,” the Congress leader added.
Gandhi urged Soren to meet the protesters and take steps to address their grievances.
Asked why Gandhi’s letter to Soren was put in the public domain, AICC’s Jharkhand in-charge K Raju said, “It is a students’ issue. They have been raising this point that Rahul Gandhi should intervene. Some have also said the Congress should withdraw support to the JMM. At a time when Rahul Gandhi is taking up the issues of students in a big way across the country, he does not want (Jharkhand) students to think that he and the Congress party are not with them.”
