New Delhi, 23 April

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to stay the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) mains examination scheduled for 25 April and rejected the pleas alleging paper leak during a preliminary test on 13 December last year.

A bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan dismissed a batch of petitions seeking the cancellation of the 70th BPSC Combined Competitive Preliminary Exams, citing a lack of conclusive evidence to justify a re-test for all candidates.

Senior advocate Anjana Prakash, appearing for the petitioners, argued that digital evidence, including WhatsApp messages and video clips, demonstrated question papers were leaked before the exam.

One such video allegedly showed answers being announced via loudspeakers at an examination centre, she added.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Bihar government and the BPSC, defended the integrity of the examination system.

He explained that four different sets of question papers were used, with questions jumbled to prevent uniformity.

Addressing concerns over similarities with coaching centre materials, he clarified that only two of the 150 questions were found to be verbatim copies.

The bench questioned the authenticity and scope of the digital evidence presented, noting that the allegations were confined to a single exam centre at Bapu Pariksha Parisar, where a re-examination was already conducted for the 10,000 affected candidates.

It noted that, based on the petitioners’ own claims, the leak appeared to have occurred after candidates had entered the exam halls.

The top court's order came on the pleas, including the one filed by Anand Legal Aid Forum Trust, against the Patna High Court verdict which dismissed the petitions, saying there was no definitive evidence of malpractice across multiple exam centres.

That decision allowed the BPSC to proceed with the mains examination.

On 7 January, a bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna refused to examine a plea over the alleged irregularities in the BPSC exam held on 13 December, 2024, and the consequent police action on protesters.

The bench asked the petitioners to move the Patna High Court with the grievances.

Bihar police had allegedly used force to control civil service aspirants who demanded the cancellation of the BPSC examination held on 13 December, 2024.

The state public service commission ordered a re-examination held on 4 January at 22 centres in Patna for certain candidates.

Of the 12,012 candidates eligible for the retest, a total of 8,111 downloaded their admit cards, and 5,943 appeared for the examination.