CGPSC Scam: The High Court has rejected the regular bail plea of Jeevan Kishore Dhruv—a former Commission Secretary and retired IAS officer—who was arrested in connection with the question paper leak and recruitment scam involving the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission’s State Service Examination-2021. Observing the case sternly, the single bench of Justice BD Guru remarked that acts such as leaking competitive examination papers ruin the futures of lakhs of youths; this crime is even more heinous than murder, because while murder affects only one family, such acts impact the entire society and the system.
According to the CBI investigation, Jeevan Kishore Dhruv held the post of Commission Secretary while the CGPSC State Service Examination was being conducted between 2020 and 2022. It is alleged that, despite the constitutional obligation to maintain the confidentiality of the office, he provided the confidential question papers for the main examination to his son, Sumit Dhruv.
During a raid conducted by the CBI at the accused’s residence in Bhilai, authorities recovered the answers for Paper-7 (General Studies) and copies of the question-cum-answer booklet for Paper-2 (Essay). The investigation revealed that 42 out of the 47 questions in the main examination’s Paper-7 were identical to those found in the documents seized from the accused’s home. It was on the strength of this leaked question paper that his son, Sumit Dhruv, was selected for the post of Deputy Collector.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that the former secretary had previously informed the Commission about his sons appearing for the exam and had recused himself from tasks related to confidentiality. Additionally, they sought bail citing his status as a retired officer, his incarceration since September 18, 2020, and the principle of parity with a co-accused.
The matter was heard by the single bench of Justice BD Guru. After hearing arguments from both the CBI and the defense, the Court adopted a stern stance. In its order, the court stated that those involved in leaking question papers for competitive examinations play with the careers and futures of the lakhs of youths who work hard day and night. This is a clear instance of the ‘fence eating the crop’—where those meant to protect the system are the ones destroying it—on the part of the accused officials. Allegations in such cases cannot be treated lightly. With this observation, the court rejected the bail plea of the retired IAS officer.
