PRADEEP KARAN SIDDHARTH, SON OF LT. SRI NIRMAL KUMAR SINHA, PERMANENT RESIDENT OF SINHA BHAWAN, EXHIBITION ROAD, BEHIND RBI, PATNA 800001 (BIHAR) PRESENTLY RESIDING AT 1B, SUMYA APARTMENTS, LATMA ROD, NEAR SINGH MORE, HATIA,RANCHI Vs. THE STATE OF JHARKHAND, THROUGH THE CHIEF SECRETARY, GOVERNMENT OF JHARKHAND, HAVING OFFICE AT NEAR PROJECT BUILDING, DHURWA, PO AND PS DHURWA, TOWN & DISTRICT RANCHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Alleging wide-spread irregularities committed in the 5th Jharkhand Public Service Examination, the present Public Interest Litigation has been filed. Though, several orders have been passed by this Court during the pendency of the present Public Interest Litigation, the core question remained whether the present writ petition is really espousing a public cause or whether the individual candidates may seek redressal of their grievances in appropriate proceeding.

(2.) Mr. Anil Kumar Sinha, the learned senior counsel appearing for the Jharkhand Public Service Commission and Mr. Ajit Kumar, the learned AAG raised a question of maintainability of the present petition on the ground . that a Public Interest Litigation involving a service matter is not maintainable. However, Mr. Kumar Kaushik, the learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the larger question raised by the petitioner is viability of examination through OMR system and wholesale rejection of meritorious candidates on hyper technical issue.

(3.) To satisfy ourselves, we issued direction to the Jharkhand Public Service Commission to upload OMR Answer-sheets along with aggregate marks secured by the individual candidates, which direction has duly been complied with.