PATNA: The Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) on Friday issued a legal notice to Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor, asking him to provide “full details of irrefutable and verifiable proofs and evidence” within seven days to support his allegations regarding malpractices in the Integrated 70th Combined (Preliminary) Competitive Examination. The notice, drafted by Patna high court advocate Sanjay Singh, accused Kishor of making defamatory and baseless statements.
According to the notice, Kishor recently alleged in interviews that “jobs of children were sold for Rs 1 crore to Rs 1.5 crore” and claimed the scandal amounted to “more than Rs 1,000 crore”.
“Your act of spreading disparaging, defamatory, misconceived and misleading statements levelling baseless, nasty allegations against my client (BPSC) without any proof… constitutes a serious offence under both civil and criminal law that warrants severe punishment,” the lawyer wrote.
Kishor, who has been on a fast-unto-death for nine days, is demanding the cancellation of the preliminary examination over alleged irregularities. Responding to the legal notice, Jan Suraaj clarified that it is offering “pro bono legal assistance” to students who have filed petitions in the Patna high court alleging malpractices in the examination.
Jan Suraaj vice-president and senior advocate Y V Giri told reporters, “We are providing legal aid to the students challenging the examination’s conduct. Kishor’s fast has entered its ninth day. We hope students and the Nitish Kumar govt will convince him to start taking food.”
