After the Bihar Public Service Commission's 70th Combined Competitive (Preliminary) Examination on 13 December 2024, candidates in Patna protested for weeks, alleging a paper leak and demanding a fresh exam for everyone. The BPSC cancelled the exam only at the Bapu Pariksha Parisar centre and re-held it there on 4 January 2025. Police used batons and water cannon on marchers, Prashant Kishor was arrested during a fast, and in March and April 2025 the Patna High Court and the Supreme Court refused to order a full re-exam.
Key takeaways
- On 13 December 2024, hundreds of candidates at the Bapu Pariksha Parisar centre in Patna's Kumhrar area walked out of the BPSC 70th prelims alleging a leak. The BPSC said it was a "conspiracy" and that 911 of 912 centres ran fairly.
- Police baton-charged protesters near the BPSC office on 25 December 2024 and used water cannon and batons on a march towards the Chief Minister's residence on 29 December. Officials said only "mild force" was used.
- Prashant Kishor began a fast on 2 January 2025, was arrested at Gandhi Maidan on 6 January and got unconditional bail the same evening. He ended the fast on 16 January.
Background: the exam and the Bapu centre
The BPSC held the 70th Combined (Preliminary) Competitive Examination for Group A and B posts on Friday, 13 December 2024, in one shift from noon to 2 pm. Chairman Parmar Ravi Manubhai said it was held at 912 centres and that "free and fair exams were held in 911 centres" PTI via Careers360.
Figures for how many sat the exam differ. The chairman spoke of "close to five lakh" candidates PTI via Careers360; an IANS report put it at more than 3.8 lakh IANS via Sakshi Post; and the result notice reported 3,28,990 appearing across both exam dates Careers360.
What happened on 13 December
At the Bapu Pariksha Parisar in Kumhrar, about 300 to 400 candidates boycotted the exam, alleging the paper had leaked on social media PTI via Careers360. Some candidates said they were not given question papers, and others said the seals on test booklets were already broken Careers360.
Official account Patna District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh said halls were set up for 272 candidates each but each box held only 192 question booklets, which delayed distribution in one or two halls. He said candidates then snatched papers from invigilators and alleged a leak PTI via Careers360. The chairman said "there has been no leak of question paper at all" and called it a conspiracy.
News channels showed the DM slapping a person outside the centre PTI via Careers360. Union minister Chirag Paswan, an NDA ally, said "My party can never condone such an act", and Tejashwi Yadav condemned it PTI via Deccan Herald. A local resident filed a complaint against him with the National Human Rights Commission; the DM said he was clearing the road because a female candidate had fainted and another person needed urgent medical help The Logical Indian. An on-duty official at the centre died of a heart attack during the disruption News Arena.
The BPSC's decision: one centre only
On 16 December the BPSC cancelled the exam at Bapu Pariksha Parisar. This came a day after a district inquiry report blamed "anti-social elements posing as examinees". The chairman said 30 to 40 people had been identified and would be debarred; police had registered two FIRs News Arena. The commission also issued show-cause notices to 34 aspirants PTI via Careers360.
The number of affected candidates was first given as nearly 6,500 News Arena. Later reports said more than 10,000 PTI via Tribune or more than 12,000 Careers360. PTI later reported 12,012 were eligible PTI via Careers360.
The Gardanibagh sit-in and the demand
From 18 December candidates held a dharna in Patna Scroll, mainly at Gardanibagh, the city's designated protest site. Claim · Protesters They argued that a re-exam for one centre "would go against the principle of 'level playing field'" and that the whole exam should be cancelled PTI via Careers360. They also alleged CCTV cameras and jammers did not work at several centres Scroll.
Police action: 25 and 29 December
On 25 December a group broke past barricades and reached the BPSC office on Bailey Road. Patna SSP Rajeev Mishra said it was a restricted area and "mild force, including baton charge was used". Protesters said two or three people were hurt, which he denied PTI via Careers360. The next day police held a Delhi tutor named Rohit, whom the SSP called "the mastermind", and said they would ask the Economic Offences Unit to examine funding PTI via Deccan Herald.
On 29 December, after a gathering at Gandhi Maidan that Prashant Kishor attended, protesters marched towards the Chief Minister's residence. Police stopped them at barricades near JP Golambar with water cannon and batons ETV Bharat. SP City Sweety Sahrawat said "They also pushed us after which we used water cannon on them" Free Press Journal.
The DM said an FIR named 21 people, including Kishor, Jan Suraaj president Manoj Bharti and tutor Ramanshu Mishra, plus 600 to 700 unknown people. Tutors Ramanshu Mishra and Rohan Anand were arrested for instigating students and released on conditional bail ETV Bharat. Police also questioned Guru Rahman on charges of instigating the aspirants PTI via Careers360.
How it turned political
Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD met protesters at Gardanibagh and wrote to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asking for cancellation. Bihar Congress chief Akhilesh Prasad Singh and Purnea MP Pappu Yadav also backed them PTI via Careers360. The RJD and AISA, the student wing of the CPI(ML) Liberation, blocked roads on 30 December Outlook.
After 29 December, Tejashwi accused Kishor's party of acting as the government's "B team", saying "those who had offered to lead the protests, chose to run away" Outlook. Rahul Gandhi visited Gardanibagh on 18 January 2025 PTI via Careers360. He later said "There was rigging in 28 examination centres" and promised to raise it in Parliament PTI via Careers360. The Patna High Court later found no serious complaint from any centre other than Bapu Pariksha Parisar (see below).
Prashant Kishor's fast and arrest
Kishor began a fast unto death at Gandhi Maidan on 2 January 2025. The administration called it "illegal as it is not the designated site for holding protests", and police filed an FIR PTI via Tribune. Early on 6 January police removed him, citing a Patna High Court order that allows such demonstrations only at Gardanibagh PTI via Tribune. Videos showed some force used on protesters, and The Hindu reported Kishor was said to have been slapped The Wire.
A court first granted bail on condition he not join any "illegal" protest. He refused and was remanded to judicial custody. His lawyer said the judge then modified the order, and he was released on unconditional bail that evening PTI via Tribune. He was in the ICU with dehydration from 7 January PTI via Deccan Herald. He ended the fast on 16 January News Arena PTI via Careers360.
Timeline
Exam and walkout
About 300 to 400 candidates boycott the exam at Bapu Pariksha Parisar PTI via Careers360.
Baton charge at BPSC office
Police use "mild force" on Bailey Road PTI via Careers360.
Water cannon at JP Golambar
March towards the CM's residence dispersed; FIR against Kishor and others ETV Bharat.
Re-exam held
At 22 Patna centres; 5,943 of 12,012 eligible appear PTI via Careers360.
Kishor arrested, bailed
Removed from Gandhi Maidan, released the same evening PTI via Tribune.
High Court ruling
Petitions dismissed LiveLaw.
Supreme Court ruling
Appeals dismissed; mains goes ahead PTI via Careers360.
Both accounts
Protesters' account
Candidates said papers were leaked or booklet seals broken, and a one-centre re-exam was unfair Careers360. After 25 December they said they were treated "like terrorists" and many were hurt PTI via Deccan Herald. On 29 December aspirant Aman Kumar said: "The police beat me up a lot. Please take me to a hospital." ETV Bharat
Police, BPSC and government account
Exam controller Rajesh Kumar Singh said "a group of private coaching institutes are instigating aspirants" PTI via Careers360. The DM said "Water cannons and mild force were used" on protesters blocking roads ETV Bharat. He said a meeting with the CM "can't happen as BPSC is an independent body". Bihar BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal said protesters "must come out with concrete evidence" PTI via Careers360.
No independent inquiry into the police action was reported.
What the courts found
On 7 January 2025 the Supreme Court refused to hear a plea and sent petitioners to the Patna High Court PTI via Careers360. On 28 March a bench of Acting Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Partha Sarathy dismissed the lead petition, Anand Legal Aid Forum Trust v. BPSC, and connected cases LiveLaw. IANS put the number of petitions at 14 IANS via Sakshi Post.
except for the proof of disturbance at BPP Centre at Patna, which was one of the biggest centres, accommodating maximum number of candidates, there is no serious complaint from any other centre.
Patna High Court, Anand Legal Aid Forum Trust v. BPSC, March 2025 (LiveLaw)
The court said the evidence was mostly WhatsApp messages and stray complaints that were "not found to have been substantiated", and upheld the one-centre re-exam. On 23 April 2025 Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan dismissed the appeals, citing a lack of conclusive evidence for a re-test for all PTI via Careers360.
Outcome
- Exam: Not cancelled; re-exam held only for Bapu Pariksha Parisar candidates on 4 January 2025.
- Prelims result: 23 January 2025, 21,581 qualified Careers360.
- Mains and final: Mains held 25 to 30 April 2025 with 20,034 candidates; final result 20 June 2026, with 2,027 selected Prabhat Khabar.
- Arrests: Tutors Ramanshu Mishra and Rohan Anand (out on conditional bail), Delhi tutor Rohit (held for questioning), and Prashant Kishor (bailed the same day). On 30 January 2025, four more were arrested and two FIRs filed against 350 people after a protest at the BPSC office PTI via Careers360.
- Courts: Patna High Court and Supreme Court refused a full re-exam.
What is still pending
The outcome of the FIRs against Kishor, the tutors and protesters, of the NHRC complaint reported against the Patna DM The Logical Indian, and of the funding probe was not found in the reporting reviewed.
Questions people ask
Why did BPSC aspirants protest in Patna?
Candidates alleged the 13 December 2024 BPSC 70th prelims paper leaked at the Bapu Pariksha Parisar centre. They demanded a fresh exam for all candidates, not just that centre. The BPSC denied any leak.
Was the BPSC 70th exam cancelled?
Only at Bapu Pariksha Parisar. The rest stood. A re-exam for that centre was held on 4 January 2025, and 5,943 of 12,012 eligible candidates appeared.
Why was Prashant Kishor arrested?
Over an FIR for fasting at Gandhi Maidan, where protests are barred. He was released on unconditional bail the same evening, 6 January 2025.
Sources
- Careers360: BPSC 70th CCE Prelims 2024 leaked at Patna centre, allege candidates, 13 Dec 2024
- PTI via Careers360: BPSC paper leak rumours "conspiracy", says commission, 13 Dec 2024
- PTI via Deccan Herald: Nitish government under fire from Chirag, Tejashwi, 14 Dec 2024
- The Logical Indian: Patna DM slaps BPSC aspirant, NHRC complaint filed, 14 Dec 2024
- News Arena: BPSC protests: re-exam ordered at Patna centre, 16 Dec 2024
- PTI via Careers360: Police baton-charge job aspirants, 25 Dec 2024
- PTI via Deccan Herald: Delhi tutor held, funding under scanner, 26 Dec 2024
- PTI via Careers360: Prelims will not be cancelled, says commission, 27 Dec 2024
- PTI via Careers360: Students reject offer for talks, demand audience with CM, 29 Dec 2024
- ETV Bharat: Lathicharge, water cannons used against students, 29 Dec 2024
- Scroll: Bihar civil service aspirants lathi-charged by police, 30 Dec 2024
- Free Press Journal: Students, police clash in Patna; Prashant Kishor booked, 30 Dec 2024
- Outlook: Tejashwi Yadav blames Prashant Kishor for misleading aspirants, Dec 2024
- Outlook: Protests continue as Bihar ministers weigh in, Dec 2024
- PTI via Tribune: Pappu Yadav's supporters stage rail blockade, 3 Jan 2025
- PTI via Tribune: Prashant Kishor claims "unconditional" bail hours after remand, 6 Jan 2025
- The Wire: Prashant Kishor arrested, released on unconditional bail, 6 Jan 2025
- PTI via Deccan Herald: Kishor's health stable, aides urge him to end fast, 8 Jan 2025
- News Arena: Prashant Kishor ends 14-day fast, 16 Jan 2025
- PTI via Careers360: Rahul visits BPSC protest site in Patna, 18 Jan 2025
- PTI via Careers360: Rahul vows to raise "BPSC exam scam" in Parliament, 21 Jan 2025
- Careers360: BPSC 70th CCE Prelims result declared, 21,581 qualify, 23 Jan 2025
- PTI via Careers360: Two FIRs against 350 protesting aspirants, 30 Jan 2025
- LiveLaw: Patna High Court dismisses pleas on BPSC 70th prelims, Mar 2025
- IANS via Sakshi Post: Student groups to move Supreme Court, 29 Mar 2025
- PTI via Careers360: Supreme Court refuses to stay BPSC Mains, 23 Apr 2025
- Prabhat Khabar: BPSC 70th CCE final result, 2,027 selected, 20 Jun 2026