Ranchi, Aug 20 (IANS) The legal battle launched by affected candidates against Jharkhand government's decision to cancel 22 recruitment examinations has intensified, with four petitions challenging the move filed in the High Court so far. The petitions are likely to be heard on Thursday at 3 PM. The petitioners include successful candidates from the 11th-13th JPSC Combined Civil Services Examination, JSSC-CGL and the Food Safety Officer examination. The petitions have been filed by successful candidates, including Avadhesh Kumar, Deepmala, Sonam Kumari and Saurabh Singh, among others.The candidates' primary argument is that the government unilaterally cancelled the examinations and subsequent appointments without giving them an opportunity to present their case. A large number of these candidates had already joined government service following their selection, and the government's decision has directly jeopardised their employment.

The petitioners have also invoked the principles of natural justice in their defence. They argue that while action should be taken against any candidate found to have played a dubious role during the investigation, it would be unjust to remove all successful candidates from their jobs without an individual inquiry or hearing.They maintain that they appeared for the examinations in accordance with the prescribed procedure, secured positions on the merit lists and were subsequently appointed to government posts.In the JSSC-CGL case, some petitioners have also argued that the examination results were declared in compliance with earlier High Court orders, raising questions over the legality of the government's subsequent decision to cancel the entire examination.The Jharkhand government decided to cancel the 22 recruitment examinations based on findings of CID and SIT investigations into alleged irregularities in various competitive examinations.The affected examinations cover recruitment for several posts, including those through the JPSC 11th-13th Combined Civil Services Examination and JSSC-CGL, as well as Civil Judge, Deputy Collector, Food Safety Officer, Drug Inspector, Assistant Professor, Lecturer, Assistant Engineer, Forest Range Officer and Assistant Conservator of Forests.

/IANS