'ANOMALIES' IN CCE, 2014: Justice Biplab Kumar Sharma of Gauhati High Court begins inquiry

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Justice Biplab Kumar Sharma, retired Judge of Gauhati High Court, today took charge as the chairman of the one-man commission constituted by the Assam Government to inquire into the allegations of anomalies and malpractices in the conduct of the Combined Competitive Examination (CCE), 2014 examination of the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC).

Justice Biplab Kumar Sharma began the preliminary work of the inquiry on the first day. He expressed hope that he would be able to submit the inquiry report within the six months' time fixed by the government. Justice Sharma had also headed the commission which was constituted to inquire into the alleged anomalies in the CCE 2013. During the inquiry, he found 34 anomalous candidates selected in the CCE, 2013. Significantly, these 34 candidates had not come under the radar of the police during the investigation in the cash-for-job scam.

Recently, following a Cabinet decision, the Assam Government had constituted the one-man commission headed by Justice Sharma to – inquire into the allegations of anomalies and malpractices in the conduct of CCE, 2014; inquire into the entire process of selection of the candidates and role of the chairman and other members of APSC, including the staff and candidates, and to fix the responsibility/fault/malpractice, if any, accordingly; inquire into the system followed by APSC for setting of questions for conducting CCE, 2014; inquire into the modalities adopted by the APSC for moderation of questions set for CCE, 2014, whether clear distinction and demarcation is there between question setters and moderators; and inquire and study the system followed by the Commission for holding the viva-voce/interview of the candidates, making pattern under the existing rules and whether proper transparency was maintained during the viva-voce/interview of the candidates appearing in CCE, 2014.

Talking to The Sentinel after taking charge, Justice Sharma said, "The inquiry will be conducted as per the government's direction.

"If anyone has any complaints or views regarding the CCE 2014, they can approach the Commission. A public notice in this regard will be issued soon."

The results of the CCE, 2014 were declared in June 2016. A total of 180 candidates were selected for recruitment in the Assam Civil Service (ACS) and allied services based on their performance in the CCE, 2014. These included 90 ACS officers (junior grade), 47 APS officers (junior grade), three Labour Officers, seven Superintendents of Taxes, three Superintendents of Excise, seven District Transport Officers (DTOs), one Inspector of Labour, one Inspector of Excise and 21 Inspectors of Taxes.

After a case was registered in the Dibrugarh police station in the APSC cash-for-job scam, some candidates selected in the CCE 2014 were dismissed from service.

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