CAV JUDGMENT

(Per: HONOURABLE THE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE)

Date : 28-03-2025

The common prayer in all the writ petitions, including the PIL, is cancellation of integrated 70^th Combined (Preliminary) Competitive Examination, conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission (for short ‘the Commission’), held on 13.12.2024 and 04.01.2025 and for holding a re-examination on the grounds of (i) systemic failure of the Commission in conducting a free and fair examination; (ii) logistical and administrative mismanagement at examination centres; (iii) impermissibility of holding two Preliminary Examinations; (iv) prevaricating stand of the Commission with respect to normalization; (v) wrong key-answers; (vi) unfair answer evaluation process; (vii) malpractices at the examination centres; (viii) strong chances of paper leak; and (ix) completely opaque methodology for coming out with a combined merit-list, without taking into account the equal standard of rigour for the students, thus offending ArticleS.14 and 16 of the Constitution of India .

2. It has been argued by all the petitioners that the above-noted grounds have led to the process of examination and the result being shrouded/mired in contro