Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced the cancellation of the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission-Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) examination late on Monday (August 18, 2026), 24 days after students began the protest over irregularities in recruitment exams in the State.

Also read: Devendra Nath Mahto | The making of an agitator

Mr. Soren said a committee will be formed under senior IAS officer Amitabh Kaushal to suggest reforms in the conduct of examinations in the State. Student leader Devendra Nath Mahto ended his hunger strike at Sadar Hospital in Ranchi in the presence of Jharkhand Ministers Dipika Pandey Singh and Irfan Ansari after the announcement by CM.

Hundreds of students who have gathered at Ranchi’s Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, demanding that the 2025 JSSC-CGL examination be cancelled, celebrated the Chief Minister’s announcement. A few of them even cried. However, Ravindra Paswan, leader of the JPSC-JSSC Reform Manch, which has been leading the protest, said the agitation would continue as their key demand of a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged examination irregularities had not been met.

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