Patna High Court rejected plea for 70th BPSC PT re-exam; students to approach Supreme Court.
Patna March 28, 2025: In a significant development, the Patna High Court on Friday dismissed all petitions demanding the re-conduct of the 70th BPSC Preliminary Examination, delivering a major setback to aggrieved candidates.
The verdict comes as a big relief to the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) and the state government, which can now proceed with the upcoming Mains Examination scheduled for April 2025.
Patna High Court Decision:
The Patna High Court decision was delivered by a division bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar, who had reserved the judgment after hearing multiple petitions, including a PIL filed by Pappu Kumar and others.
The 70th BPSC Preliminary Exam was held on 13 December 2024, with over 3.8 lakh candidates appearing across 912 centers. However, allegations of question paper leaks surfaced from several examination centres during the exam.
The BPSC canceled the examination only for Bapu Sabhagar Centre in Patna, where irregularities were reported.
A re-exam was conducted on 4 January 2025, and different student groups, filed petitions, claiming 6 extra marks awarded to all candidates appearing in that examination held on January 4 due to three incorrect questions and two repeated questions from a previous paper.
Petitioners argued that awarding extra marks to select candidates created an unequal playing field, disadvantaging those who appeared in the initial exam on 13 December 2024.
Students, coaching institutes vow to move Supreme Court:
The verdict has left students and coaching institute operators disheartened.
Prominent coaching teacher Guru Rahman called the decision a temporary win for BPSC.
“We have enough proof of irregularities in the preliminary examination, but the court rejected our claims. We may have lost this round, but we will win in the Supreme Court,” Rahman asserted.
A large number of students gathered at Gardanibagh Dharna Asthal in Patna to express their frustration.
Prominent coaching figure Khan Sir visited the protest site, offering support to the students.
One of the pretesting students expressed disappointment, stating: “This is not a victory for BPSC or the Bihar government; it is a victory for corruption. We respect the judiciary, but Patna High Court today’s decision is disheartening. We will go to the Supreme Court to seek justice.”
Political backing for students’ cause:
The agitation has garnered support from several political parties. Prominent leaders like Congress’ Rahul Gandhi, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, Pappu Yadav and Jan Suraj’s Prashant Kishor visited the Gardanibagh Dharna Asthal, expressing solidarity with the students.
The movement intensified after Patna Police lathi-charged the protesting students, leaving several injured. Cases were also registered against some coaching teachers who participated in the protests earlier.
With the verdict of the Patna High Court, BPSC is set to conduct the Mains Examination as scheduled in April 2025.
However, student groups, backed by coaching institutions, are now preparing to approach the Supreme Court in their fight for a re-examination. The Supreme Court’s decision will likely be the final word on the fate of the 70th BPSC PT examination.
Also Read: Patna High Court canceled the reservation given by the Bihar government
EOM.