Ranchi: Forty-five-year-old Manoj Yadav’s journey to become a civil servant began in 2003 with the first Jharkhand Public Service Commission exam. But the last two decades were spent on the streets of Ranchi, protesting against a system, he alleged, is rotten to the core. He has been to jail and fought cases in the Jharkhand High Court. But a government job still eludes him.
Yadav has become a serial protester in Jharkhand, a state where court battles, CBI investigations, and SIT inquiries have taken over the examination process.
“The system is corrupt and the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) is the root of all the failures. They took money from people and recruited their relatives into the services. It has been 20 years and this practice is still ongoing,” said Yadav, who has attempted the JPSC exam three times.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi now attacking the Jharkhand government for its alleged lapses in the excise recruitment exam that saw 15 deaths, the exam discrepancies is fast becoming a political hot potato. Jharkhand goes to polls later this year. In 21 years, the JPSC has conducted only 13 exams when it is supposed to happen annually. There has not been a single civil services exam that hasn’t landed in court. And the malaise of corruption isn’t restricted to the JPSC. Even the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission, which conducts exams for grade III and grade IV state government employees, is perpetually under attack by the aspirants. The latest being the excise constable exam. Former officials and chairpersons blame corruption and the government’s incompetence as the main reasons.
“The government keeps hiring its people in the commission. Corruption is deeply rooted in the system and even a few chairpersons who were honest and good weren’t able to work. The JPSC is the worst in the entire country,” said Vijay Shankar Dubey, former chief secretary of Jharkhand, who played a key role in the formation of the JPSC.
ThePrint reached out to the JPSC through calls and email but no response was received.
Multiple former civil servants ThePrint spoke to said that the commission was a breeding ground for corruption and irregularities right from day one.
The system is corrupt and the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) is the root of all the failures. They took money from people and recruited their relatives into the services. It has been 20 years and this practice is still ongoing – Manoj Yadav, former aspirant
“After JPSC’s establishment, the first civil service exam was conducted for the 64 posts in 2003. It took them three years to complete the process. Later, questions were raised that the relatives of political leaders had been selected,” said an IAS officer who worked in the commission, on the condition of anonymity.
The answer sheets were investigated and many of them didn’t have the signature of the examiner. Overwriting was seen, and many people went to jail over this.
In the 2003 exam, many candidates from the same center were selected and OMR sheets had gone missing.
There are multiple instances when the JPSC has been exposed. At times, the commission has admitted the faults in the recruitment process. In the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th JPSC exam that was conducted together in 2021, the OMR sheets of 57 aspirants was missing. Of these 57, 49 candidates were selected but later their recruitment was dismissed.
“Lakhs of aspirants are on the roads, and sadly, no one cares about them. The officers and political leaders are there just to make money and help their relatives get into the services,” said Dubey.
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Competing in courts
Twenty-eight-year-old Ajay Kumar has spent five years of his youth preparing for the civil services exam in Ranchi. His father, a farmer, sends Rs 8,000 from Koderma to keep him in the fight. Kumar has cleared the prelims and written the mains. The result is awaited.
But he knows what’s going to happen.
“The result will be out soon, but the government will recruit only their people. Last time I heard that people gave Rs 90 lakh for a DSP job and got selected. This is the last exam under this government. I know I won’t clear the exam even after performing well,” said Ajay Kumar, an aspirant who lives in Ranchi.
Kumar hasn’t been able to complete one cycle of the exam without a disruption. He has protested in the rain, been beaten by the police, and even spent nights on the roads. But nothing changed. Student groups have met cabinet ministers, JPSC chairpersons, and even the Governor.
“Everyone promises to do something, but no political leader has thought about students in the last two decades. We prove in court about cheating and corruption, but JPSC fast-forwards the recruitment process and says in court that on a humanitarian grounds this case should be dropped as many aspirants have joined the service and their lives will be affected. They get away with it easily,” he said.
The result will be out soon, but the government will recruit only their people. Last time I heard that people gave Rs 90 lakh for a DSP job and got selected
— Ajay Kumar, JPSC aspirant
Manoj Yadav was part of the first protest that happened in 2005 Ranchi against the corruption in JPSC. He alleged that then education minister used to recruit his relatives. Some candidates had secured 240 marks out of 200, which was an error obviously and a proof of cheating, but nothing was done then, said Yadav. Eventually, the matter went to court and a CBI investigation was ordered. After 20 years, the CBI filed its charge sheet and said that a major lapse happened in the JPSC 1st exam and named 20 officers who were hired unethically.
“I went to jail while fighting for justice. It’s an open fact that many things are wrong in Jharkhand, and the government and officers are to blame. But even after so many protests and failed exams, the situation is the same,” said Yadav.
While protesting he went to gherao the Raj Bhawan and that is when he was arrested.
“A lot of students have gone to their villages and become laborers. Many dreams have been killed over the years, and nobody is taking accountability. Who is responsible for ruining our lives?” asked Prakash Kumar, angrily.
Prakash Kumar ended his preparation a few months ago but could not detach himself from this journey. Now he goes to every protest and leads every march related to aspirant issues. He gives therapy to hopeless candidates who get scared after entering this cycle.
“I gave four attempts to JPSC, and the matter went to court. I got so involved in legal matters that I couldn’t focus on my studies. Now every hope has left my heart that anything will change in this state, but my anger is not gone. I don’t know how many protests it will take for me to be at peace,” said Prakash, sitting in Birsa Munda Park and adding, “We had protested here too. Most of the places in Ranchi remind me of the protests and the sad cycle of preparation.”
Jharkhand students have explored many modes of protest, both physical and digital. They have staged strikes, blocked roads, gone to Raj Bhavan, and held Mashal marches, just to get the government’s attention on the paper leak and corruption issues.
“Itne to maine test nahi diye jitne protest kiye (I have attended more protests than I have given tests),” said Ajay Kumar.
The problems are not limited to JPSC; JSSC, which conducts exams for third and fourth-grade posts, has also faced student anger. In the last 15 years, JSSC has failed to recruit candidates through the Combined Graduate Level Examination.
“They took the exam in January, but it got canceled due to a paper leak, and now JSSC has released a new date for the same exam for the 18th time. It is taking them 18 attempts to conduct the exams,” said Ganesh Kumar.
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Rotten from the start
Many IAS officers came to the commission and tried cleaning up the mess and addressing students’ grievances but they couldn’t survive. The JPSC had problems in its genesis. They tried to conduct the exams and release the result on time but members never came to agreement on one thing. The political pressure was also there.
“Appointing the first chairperson became a challenge as the name recommended by the CM office was not appropriate. That person was greedy and incompetent. He was a professor at the Ranchi University and that is when the file came to me for the signature. I refused to sign,” said Dubey.
Dubey said, in 2005 the price for a Deputy Collector was Rs 10 lakh, Rs seven lakh for a DSP and engineer, and Rs six lakh for a medical officer. “Now I have heard that prices have spiked up to crores of rupees.”
“Later I wrote a letter to the CM office saying that this institution is very important for Jharkhand’s Growth and it should not go into the wrong hands. But when I retired the CM office appointed the same corrupt person. Since then the corruption started and never stopped,” added Dubey.
The lapse happened in UPSC as well but they took action instantly in Pooja Khedkar’s case. In Jharkhand, the CBI has given the list of suspected officers who got into the system using unfair means but nothing is being done because they are the relatives of the influential people
— an IAS officer who served in Jharkhand
Another IAS officer who served in Jharkhand and handled JPSC matters briefly said nothing will change until the government does something about it.
“The lapse happened in UPSC as well but they took action instantly in Pooja Khedkar’s case. In Jharkhand, the CBI has given the list of suspected officers who got into the system using unfair means but nothing is being done because they are the relatives of the influential people.”
The officer quoted above said there are two levels at which the JPSC exam can rigged at.
In written exams, the candidates’ copies can be replaced with new ones and marks altered. For example, if a candidate got 5 marks, then the exam checker can put a 1 in front of 5 to make it 15. In interviews, they ask for money for the post.
A former chairperson of JPSC, who had a two-year term, said she didn’t get enough support from the commission to clean the mess.
She was unable to release the result of the JPSC examination 2024, it is still awaited. She alleged to have suffered from internal politics where the other members did not support her decisions.
“To release the results, it is necessary to seek permission from three members of the commission. If any member is not there, then the matter gets stuck, which delays the result,” said Nilima Kerketta, former Chairperson of the JPSC.
Kerkatta was referring to the result in which Ajay Kumar wrote the main paper.
Ajay cleared the Prelims in March and wrote the mains in June this year. The result was supposed to be released in July but later the commission said it will be announced in August. Aspirants continue to wait.
As a step to clean the system, former JPSC chief Nilima Kerkatta suggested appointing the commission members from an administrative background. Currently, all three members of the JPSC are from an academic background
“I tried to work with full attention because I knew it was important to clean up the commission’s image but didn’t have enough time. The situation wasn’t appropriate. I will always regret the huge loss for Jharkhand students,” she added.
As a step to clean the system, Kerkatta suggested appointing the commission members from an administrative background. Currently, all three members of the JPSC are from an academic background.
“The 2001 rule book needs to be changed. Members who were once assistant professors are deciding the hirings of chief scientists, professors, and civil servants.”
There is a huge difference between the grades of the members and selected candidates too,” said Kerkatta.
Ajay Kumar and Prashant Kumar haven’t researched their syllabus as much as they have on the workings of the JPSC. They know every alleged fraud and irregularity about the civil service exam because they have cited them in the court, before the media, and with other aspirants to make them aware. Prakash has left this journey but he still lives in this cycle — of counseling other aspirants.
“The preparation itself is very challenging and the system never misses a chance to make our situation worse. Why I shouldn’t do some illegal work to earn money. Because the government does not care about the youth,” said Prakash.
(Edited by Anurag Chaubey)