Jharkhand exam row: After students end protest, govt employees open front over JSSC

Students celebrate after government accepts demands

Two days after the Jharkhand government accepted key demands of protesting students, including the cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination, student leader Devendra Nath Mahato joined an 'Aabhaar Yatra' in Ranchi on Wednesday, marking what he described as a major victory for the movement. The yatra, organised by students, began at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium and proceeded towards Albert Ekka Chowk, as reported by news agency ANI.

The atmosphere during the march was celebratory, with students raising slogans and carrying the national flag. People were seen dancing on the streets, bursting firecrackers and applying gulal to each other. Mahato, one of the prominent faces of the agitation who observed a 16-day hunger strike, was lifted onto the shoulders of fellow protesters.

Speaking to ANI during the yatra, Mahato said the prolonged agitation and his hunger strike had resulted in action against several examinations. "Our 'satyagraha' continued for days and I observed a hunger strike for 16 days. As a result, the student protest saw a major victory. Action was taken on 45 exams and 22 exams were cancelled; this is a massive attack on corruption. Paper mafia and education mafia are being dismantled," he said.

Other student leaders who participated included Ravindra Paswan, Piyush Kumar, Kunal Pratap Singh, Savita Kumari, and Rahul Kranti. Ravindra Paswan said students initially demanded a CBI inquiry but the government had reservations; they welcomed a judicial inquiry instead. He warned that if demands were not fulfilled within two months, students would launch a more vigorous agitation and press for CBI inquiry. Piyush Kumar said the agitation was being suspended following the government's decision to cancel the JSSC-CGL examination, with the government seeking 60 days to address the allegations.

Kunal Pratap Singh said the movement was suspended, not ended, and would resume with 'double the strength' if demands were not met. Rahul Kranti urged the government to withdraw the Letters Patent Appeal (LPA) against the Single Bench verdict concerning TGT 2016 recruitment.

The decisions followed a 26-day student protest in Ranchi over alleged irregularities in JPSC and JSSC recruitment examinations. The students had suspended their agitation after the government cancelled 22 examinations and ordered investigations into 23 others, while giving the government two months to address their concerns. The government also announced an exam reforms committee headed by senior IAS officer Amitabh Kaushal to recommend measures to strengthen the recruitment examination process.

Government employees launch fresh protest

As students celebrated, government employees appointed through JSSC-CGL examinations held since 2014 launched a protest against the state's decision to cancel the recruitment examination. The employees, many of whom have already joined their posts and have been working, staged a demonstration outside Project Bhawan in Ranchi, seeking clarity over their appointments and demanding that they not be removed from service because of the government's decision.

The protesting employees alleged that the government decided to cancel the JSSC-CGL examination under pressure from the ongoing student movement. They argued that an oral government order cannot be used to terminate the services of employees who were appointed through the recruitment process and have already been working in their respective posts. The employees said the matter will ultimately be decided by the court and maintained that they would continue to fight for their jobs through legal means.

Protester Chanda Kumari said the government's decision had immediately put thousands of innocent candidates at risk. Citing the principle that an innocent person should not be punished for someone else's wrongdoing, she questioned whether cancelling an examination was the appropriate way to address alleged irregularities. She also alleged that the government had heard only one side of the dispute for the past 24 days and had not given the appointed employees an opportunity to present their case.

The protesting JSSC-CGL employees claimed that around 2,000 government jobs could be affected by the decision to cancel examinations conducted since 2014. The employees said they had cleared the recruitment examinations, received appointments and were already performing their duties.

Appointed candidates describe personal impact

Vivek Kumar (32), who until 17 August was working with the Water Resources Department in Jharkhand, described the impact of the cancellation. In December 2025, Vivek received an appointment letter, along with over 1,900 others who had qualified in the JSSC-CGL examination in 2024. The letters were handed out by Chief Minister Hemant Soren at a grand event organised by the Jharkhand government in Ranchi.

However, on 17 August, the fate of all those appointed changed overnight after Soren announced the blanket cancellation of the JSSC-CGL exam, giving in to the demands of students who had been protesting at the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium. While those protesting at the stadium celebrated, thousands like Vivek began a fresh protest at the Jharkhand Mantralaya over losing their jobs in a matter of a few hours.

The appointments made following the JSSC-CGL exam came after a nine-year wait for the examination to be conducted by the JSSC, a re-examination following alleged irregularities, and year-long court battles to compel the government to make the appointments. "I gave my youth to this—10 years since 2015 preparing for government jobs. I spent my youth trying to secure a government job, finally got selected, and now without a valid reason, they claim irregularities were found," Vivek said, alleging that the decision was taken by the Soren government under the "pressure of media trial," and that respective departments have issued no notification or clarification.

Priyanka Minch (29) was working as an Assistant Section Officer until 16 August and had left a job in the Railways to take up this position. Hemant Raj (26) was working as an ASO for eight months and was a Class 7 officer in the GST department before that. Raj said the government's SIT or CID did not find evidence in a year. Candidates also blamed Delhi-based media houses for 'unbalanced reporting' and a 'media trial', with Vivek saying many in the media drew false parallels with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement.

The JSSC-JPSC Reform Manch said the movement is postponed for two months and not ended. The protest at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium has been paused for two months. Priyanka Minch's father is a retired government employee whose pension is still awaited, and Vivek said his father's pension is currently their primary income.