Question paper leak a ' crime against society', says Orissa high court

CUTTACK: Observing that question paper leaks in government recruitment examinations strike at the very foundation of a fair selection process and amount to a “crime against society”, the Orissa high court on Friday rejected the bail pleas of 17 accused in the Odisha Police Sub-Inspector recruitment examination scam being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).Hearing a batch of bail applications, Justice Gourishankar Satapathy held that socio-economic offences of such magnitude require a stricter approach while considering bail. “No civilized society can ever accept the leaking of question papers for recruitment to Government posts forcing the Government to cancel the examination,” the Judge observed.Justice Satapathy noted that the allegations against the accused reveal a larger conspiracy involving leakage of question papers in exchange for lakhs of rupees from candidates.

He said such acts not only destroy the integrity of the recruitment process but also demoralise deserving aspirants who prepare honestly for competitive examinations.“The Combined Police Service Examination 2024 was cancelled twice for the alleged action of the petitioners,” Justice Satapathy said, adding that if undeserving candidates secure jobs through corrupt means, society would be deprived of meritorious candidates.

The accused were arrested since December last year under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Odisha Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. While the charge sheet has already been filed and the accused have spent some months in custody, the court held that these factors alone were insufficient to justify bail in a case involving serious socio-economic offences.The HC also took note of the ongoing investigation and the filing of a supplementary charge sheet by the CBI recently and observed that several aspects of the conspiracy are yet to be unearthed.Rejecting all 17 bail petitions, the court said the allegations involved forging documents, adopting corrupt practices and forcing the Odisha Police Recruitment Board (OPRB) to cancel the examination twice, thereby adversely affecting genuine candidates at large.The bail pleas of T. Abhimanyu Dora, Priyadarsani Samal, Lokanath Sahoo, Srikanta Maharana, Biswajit Harichandan, Sagar Kumar Gouda, Tafim Ahemmad Khan, Suresh Chandra Nayak, Biranchi Kumar Nayak, Nimain Charan Sahoo, Arjun Nayak, Biswaranjan Behera, Epili Sitaram, Ram Babu Yadav, Nitish Kumar, Muna Mohanty and Arabinda Das were rejected.The court also directed accused Muna Mohanty, who is on interim bail for medical treatment, to surrender within 21 days after completing post-surgery bed rest.