Amid ongoing controversies surrounding the fairness of competitive examinations in India, a new scandal has emerged in Manipur, involving alleged manipulation of recruitment results for information assistant posts under the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR).
An RTI response has exposed discrepancies in the awarded marks, revealing mathematically impossible scores that suggest deliberate manipulation.
The RTI query, filed by candidates Aribam Bishwajit Sharma and Heirangkhongjam Bhavan Meitei, disclosed that five out of nine selected candidates were awarded odd-numbered marks (95, 93, 91, 89, and 69) despite the examination consisting of 50 questions, each worth two marks with no provision for negative marking.
In response to these revelations, Aribam Bishwajit Sharma has filed a petition with the High Court of Manipur, naming the state of Manipur, represented by its Secretary/Commissioner, and 10 others as respondents.
The petition alleges deliberate manipulation to favour specific candidates and seeks the annulment of the examination results.
The petition also calls for a forensic investigation of the answer sheets of all selected candidates, including his own, to identify any tampering.
Should manipulation be confirmed, the petition urges the court to direct the filing of a suo motu FIR against the responsible examiners and officials.
The High Court of Manipur took up the matter on August 30 and scheduled the next hearing for October 7 directing the petitioner to take further action with respect to unnerved private respondents by all available modes and file an affidavit of proof of service.
Meanwhile, the GA for State respondents had sought three weeks time for filing counter affidavits.
The recruitment examination in question was conducted on November 13, 2021, and the results were declared nearly three years later, on March 14, 2024.
The recruitment process was initially advertised on August 16, 2021, after the state Cabinet approved the direct recruitment of 64 contract-based Class-III and IV posts under the DIPR.
After reviewing his answer paper, following a directive from the Information Commission, the petitioner suspected that the competent authorities might have manipulated and reduced his marks.
Following this inspection, Bishwajit proceeded to file this petition before the high court, seeking justice for the alleged manipulation in the recruitment process.
