SC favours scrapping of ‘tainted’ 2017 SSC exam

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court favoured on Monday scrapping of the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) exam held in 2017 and asked the government to give its view on the same.

The question papers for the exam were allegedly leaked, which led to mass protests. A petition was filed in the apex court over it. Lakhs of students had appeared in the SSC examinations for government jobs.

The court had stayed the declaration of the exam results in August. It noted the entire test was “tainted and it can’t permit people benefitting from leaked paper to get into service.”

A bench of justices SA Bobde and LN Rao perused the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’S status report on its probe in the case on Monday. “...we would like to cancel it (exam) and order a fresh test. No investigation authority in the world can determine with precision who benefitted using unfair means and do justice. We can let the CBI complete its probe, but it will always face the challenge,” it said.

“We need to send the message that the youngsters cannot be allowed to benefit if they tamper with the system,” Justice Bobde said, asking for additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta’s opinion.

Mehta was asked to read the CBI report and then respond to the court’s concern.

“We want you to come to us and say that the exam should be scrapped,” the judges told Mehta, who urged the court to refrain from passing any order.