Chhattisgarh HC rejects bail of former CGPSC secretary Jiwan Kishore Dhruv in paper leak case
Raipur: The Chhattisgarh High Court has rejected the bail application of retired IAS officer and former Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC) secretary Jiwan Kishore Dhruv in connection with the 2021 CGPSC examination scam and paper leak case.
A single bench of Justice BD Guru observed that leaking examination papers and jeopardising the future of lakhs of youth is a crime graver than murder. The court remarked that while murder affects one family, examination fraud destroys the trust of society as a whole.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is investigating allegations against former CGPSC Chairman Taman Singh Sonwani, Jiwan Kishore Dhruv, and other senior officials for allegedly favouring relatives and selected candidates during recruitment. According to the CBI, Dhruv took charge as CGPSC Secretary on 6 October 2020 and issued the 2021 examination advertisement under his official signature.
The investigation alleges that Dhruv misused his official position to access confidential mains examination question papers before the examination and shared them with his son, Sumit Dhruv, who was later selected as a Deputy Collector. During searches at Dhruv’s residence in Bhilai, the CBI recovered several incriminating documents.
Investigators seized written answers to 42 of 47 questions for Mains Paper-7 (General Studies) and answer scripts for Paper-2 (Essay). The probe further revealed that four essay topics allegedly prepared by Sumit Dhruv before the examination—Cryptocurrency, Russia-Ukraine War, Development of Dantewada District, and the Chhattisgarh Tonhi Atyachar Nivaran Act—appeared in the official question paper.
The defence counsel argued that Dhruv had been falsely implicated because of his administrative position and pointed out that his name was not included in the original FIR. The defence also claimed that Dhruv had informed the commission about his sons appearing in the examination, stayed away from confidential processes, and has remained in judicial custody since 18 September 2025 after the CBI charge sheet was filed.
Opposing the bail plea, the CBI argued that the accused occupied a constitutional post responsible for maintaining the integrity of the examination process. The agency maintained that the seized evidence and witness statements establish a deliberate criminal conspiracy.
The CGPSC recruitment scam relates to recruitment conducted between 2020 and 2022, where allegations surfaced that recruitment rules and interview transparency were compromised to favour candidates from politically and administratively influential families for posts including Deputy Collector and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP).
Following widespread public outrage, the Chhattisgarh Government handed over the investigation to the CBI. The case concerns 171 posts notified under the 2021 CGPSC recruitment cycle. The preliminary examination was held on 13 February 2022, with 2,565 candidates qualifying. The mains examination took place from 26 to 29 May 2022, after which 509 candidates qualified, leading to the final selection list of 170 candidates released on 11 May 2023.
