RANCHI, Aug. 21 -- The Jharkhand high court on Thursday stayed the notifications that cancelled the 11th to 13th Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) Combined Civil Services Examination and the Food Safety Officer recruitment examination and related appointments. The interim order from Justice Deepak Roushan's bench brought relief to around 400 successful candidates (342 under JPSC and 54 FSO) whose career prospects were left hanging after the government's sudden decision to scrap the recruitment processes. The bench passed the interim order while hearing a batch of four writ petitions challenging the state's cancellation notifications. The petitions were moved by aggrieved candidates, including Deepmala, Sonam Kumari, Saurabh Singh, and Ashutosh Kumar, who argued that the government's blanket cancellation was arbitrary, unjust, and violated the well-established principles of natural justice. During the high-stakes hearing, senior advocates Indrajeet Sinha and Amritansh Vats, appearing on behalf of the petitioners, presented a strong defence against the state's sudden administrative move. Advocate Indrajeet Sinha said, "The Honorable Court stayed the operations of the state government's notifications cancelling the JPSC 11th to 13th Civil Services and Food Safety Officer recruitment exams." On Tuesday, the state government issued eight notifications cancelling 22 recruitment examinations. TDPL, a private firm under the scanner of the Crime Investigation Department (CID) probing irregularities in recruitment exams conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC), was involved in these examinations. The notification that cancelled the JPSC 11th to 13th and Food Safety Officer examinations also included the cancellation of the CDPO examination. When asked about the fate of other notifications, advocate Sinha clarified that those have not been stayed and said a hearing regarding them is expected on Friday. Besides, staying the order, the court directed all parties including the state government to file affidavits and listed the matter for hearing on September 15, counsel Amritansh Vats said. Senior additional advocate general Achyut Keshav, who appeared on behalf of the state, said: "The HC has stayed the cancellation notifications for the time being. A detailed order copy outlining the court's complete observations and specific directions will be uploaded on the official website by late tonight," he said. The legal battle stems from the state government's Tuesday late night notifications to annul several competitive examinations following allegations of paper leaks and institutional irregularities involving a blacklisted third-party examination management agency. The notification was issued a day after a discussion on the matter in the state cabinet following student protests demanding proper action regarding irregularities in the recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC). While the government maintained that the cancellations were necessary to preserve the sanctity of public employment, the affected candidates approached the judiciary, claiming they were being unfairly targeted. With the interim stay now in effect, the court directed the state government to file a detailed counter-affidavit defending its actions and outlining the findings that prompted the mass cancellations. The HC has scheduled the next formal hearing in the matter for September 15, when the state's reply will be taken into consideration. Advocate Kumar Harsh, who had filed an intervenor petition on behalf of JSSC-CGL unsucessful students, stated that the court, upon finding a prima facie case, stayed the cancellation orders and instructed successful candidates to file an individual affidavit accepting responsibility if future investigations reveal complicity. "Petitioners argued the cancellation violated principles of natural justice and failed to outline personal fault. On which the court instructed the successful candidates to file an individual affidavit accepting responsibility if future investigations reveal complicity," Harsh said....