NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a plea seeking the cancellation of the
Bihar Public Service Commission
(BPSC) 70th Combined Competitive Preliminary Examination held on December 13. The petition, which also called for action against officials accused of excessive force on protesting candidates, was directed to be filed in the
Patna high court
instead.
CJI Sanjiv Khanna, while hearing the matter, acknowledged the concerns of the petitioners. “We understand your sentiments attached to the matter… but we cannot be the court of first instance,” the CJI said, adding, “we feel it will be appropriate and more expeditious that the petitioner approached the Patna High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution.”
The controversy stems from allegations of a paper leak at the Bapu Examination Complex in Patna. Following the uproar, the BPSC cancelled the exam at the centre and scheduled a retest for affected candidates on January 4. Of the 12,012 eligible aspirants, over 5,900 appeared for the re-examination across 22 centres in Patna.
The row escalated into protests in Patna, with thousands of aspirants demanding the cancellation of the entire examination. On December 24, BPSC Chairperson Parmar Rai Manubhai dismissed calls for a full cancellation, stating that the irregularities were confined to a single centre. Despite this clarification, many candidates persisted with their demands, leading to clashes with the police near Gandhi Maidan.
Protests turned violent when candidates attempted to breach barricades and march toward the chief minister’s residence. Police resorted to baton charges and water cannons to disperse the crowd, leaving several injured. Patna authorities subsequently declared Gandhi Maidan a restricted area, prohibiting student gatherings.
Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor, voiced support for the protesters. Kishor criticised the state government for its response, saying, “Bihar is the birthplace of democracy, and students are being denied their fundamental right to express themselves.”
