Chandigarh, March 25 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the effect and operation of a February 4 order of the Punjab and Haryana high court whereby a chargesheet filed by Haryana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arraigning eight Haryana Civil Services (HCS) officers as accused was quashed.

The eight HCS officers Veena Hooda, Surender Singh-1, Jagdeep Dhanda, Sarita Malik, Kamlesh Kumar Bhadoo, Kuldhir Singh, Vatsal Vashisht and Jag Niwas were arraigned as accused by the ACB in a case pertaining to alleged irregularities and malpractices committed by the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) in the recruitment process of 2001 Haryana Civil Service (HCS) and Allied Services (executive branch) examination.

The ACB had in 2023 presente...