The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has made an administrative decision to conduct a separate examination for 67 candidates who had initially applied for the junior assistant positions within the High Court. This decision follows an unfortunate incident where examination materials, including question booklets and OMR sheets, were insufficiently supplied during the exam conducted across J&K on July 19. The examination was managed by an external agency.
In an official notice released on July 20, Registrar General MK Sharma stated that there was a shortage of examination materials for 67 candidates scheduled to take the test at the Jammu Institute of Ayurveda and Research, Nardani, Kot Balwal. Sharma assured that these candidates will be notified via publication about a rescheduled examination date, time, and venue, which will be announced within two days. The exam is expected to occur within the next two weeks.
The reasons behind the lack of question papers, despite prior planning, remain unclear. Attempts by Bar & Bench to contact Sharma for clarification were unsuccessful. Videos retrieved by Bar & Bench from the examination center in Jammu show the chaos that ensued as candidates, who arrived with valid admit cards issued by the High Court, were not given question papers.
Frustrated by the oversight, some candidates attempted to access the examination hall to document the proceedings for others. One candidate expressed their discontent, stating, “We were properly seated in the hall, but no sheets [question papers] were provided. Who is responsible for this? It’s 12:30, and still no sheets. They claim they are not responsible. Are we, who traveled 500 kms, responsible?”
The High Court initially advertised 48 junior assistant vacancies on May 26, 2025. However, the examination was delayed for over a year. On May 8 of the current year, it was announced that due to the high volume of applications, the examination would be conducted offline using OMR sheets instead of an Online Computer-Based Test (CBT). Negative marking was also introduced for incorrect answers.
The examination eventually took place on July 19 at various venues in Srinagar and Jammu, under stringent security measures provided by the J&K Police.
