The Supreme Court refused to hear a petition seeking to cancel the Bihar Public Service Commission's (BPSC) 70th Combined Competitive Preliminary Examination, yesterday, Tuesday, January 7.
The apex court directed that the petition, which also sought punishment against authorities suspected of using excessive force against protesting candidates, be filed in the Patna High Court instead, reports Times of India.
The BPSC Prelims exams were held from December 13, 2024.
While hearing the matter, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna acknowledged the petitioners' concerns.
“We understand your sentiments attached to the matter... but we cannot be the court of first instance,” the CJI said.
He added, "We feel it will be appropriate and more expeditious that the petitioner approached the Patna High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution."
The contention with the exam stems from suspicions that a paper leak occurred at the Bapu Examination Complex, Patna.
Following the allegations, the BPSC suspended the exam at the centre and scheduled a re-exam for affected candidates for January 4. Over 5,900 of the 12,012 eligible aspirants took the re-examination in Patna's 22 centres.
The row caused large-scale protests in Patna, with thousands of candidates demanding the entire exam be cancelled.
On December 24, BPSC Chairperson Parmar Rai Manubhai rejected requests for a full cancellation, claiming that the irregularities were limited to a single centre. Despite this clarification, numerous candidates continued to protest, resulting in skirmishes with the police near Gandhi Maidan.
The protests turned violent when candidates tried to break through barricades and march towards Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's residence. Police resorted to lathi charges and water cannons to disperse the gathering, causing multiple injuries.
Patna authorities then declared Gandhi Maidan a restricted area, forbidding student meetings.
