SC declines stay on BPSC mains exam, Apr 25

New Delhi

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to stay the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) mains examination scheduled for April 25. It also dismissed several petitions seeking cancellation of the 70th BPSC preliminary exam held on December 13, 2024, over alleged paper leaks. A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan ruled that there was no solid proof to justify a re-exam for all candidates.

Senior advocate Anjana Prakash, representing the petitioners, claimed digital evidence such as WhatsApp chats and videos showed question papers were leaked. She said one video even had answers being announced on loudspeakers at an exam centre. However, the Supreme Court backed the Patna High Court’s earlier verdict, which found no strong evidence of widespread malpractice.

The apex court also referred to its January 7 decision, where a bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna declined to hear a plea about exam irregularities and advised petitioners to approach the Patna High Court instead. That plea also mentioned police action against civil service aspirants protesting the alleged leak.

In response to the concerns, the BPSC had already conducted a re-exam on January 4 at 22 centres in Patna for selected candidates. Out of 12,012 eligible candidates, 8,111 downloaded their admit cards and 5,943 appeared for the retest. The Supreme Court’s order clears the way for the BPSC mains to proceed as planned.