On April 23, the Supreme Court refused to stop the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) Main Exams scheduled for April 25, rejecting petitions that claimed a paper leak during the Preliminary Exams held on December 13, 2024.

A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan dismissed the case filed by Anand Legal Aid Forum Trust and others, stating that the allegations lacked solid proof of malpractice across all exam centres.

“All these claims are related to one exam centre only. And a re-test was already held there,” the Court noted.

Senior advocates Anjana Prakash and Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the petitioners, argued that WhatsApp messages and videos proved the leak. Some clips allegedly showed answers being announced on loudspeakers. However, the Court questioned whether such digital evidence could be considered authentic and reliable.

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Justice Manmohan pointed out that even based on the petitioners’ claims, the leak happened after candidates entered the exam halls, not before. Prakash insisted that without clarity, a re-test was necessary to maintain fairness.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Bihar government and BPSC, explained that the exam had four different sets of question papers with shuffled questions, reducing the chance of mass cheating.

“In competitive exams, it is common to find 30-40% questions from mock test booklets,” said Justice Manmohan, addressing concerns about similarities with coaching centre materials.

Gonsalves claimed that at least 24 questions were identical to those from coaching institutes, but the Court did not find this unusual.

SG Mehta added that only two questions out of 150 were word-for-word from mock tests. Gonsalves disagreed, but the Court stood by its decision.

“This trend of suspecting every exam and institution must stop. Insecurities of candidates are being misused,” Justice Manmohan remarked.

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The original plea had requested the Supreme Court to cancel the entire exam and order a full re-test. It also sought a special committee to investigate BPSC’s conduct. However, the Court directed the petitioners to first approach the Patna High Court.

The Patna High Court had earlier dismissed the petitions, stating there was no definite evidence of widespread malpractice. It allowed BPSC to proceed with the Mains.

The controversy arose after a re-test was allowed only for around 10,000 candidates who appeared at the Bapu Pariksha Parisar centre — the only location where the alleged leak occurred — while nearly 5 lakh candidates took the preliminary exam across 900 centres.

“It’s unfortunate that exams today rarely conclude without suspicion,” Justice Manmohan observed during the hearing.

Case Title: Anand Legal Aid Forum Trust vs. Bihar Public Service Commission & Ors., SLP(C) No. 11363/2025