Case file · GPSSB · surfaced 29 Jan 2023

Gujarat junior clerk exam called off 4 hours before start

Stalled documented status: Arrests made

Confidence C — based on the press record (archived below). No primary documents on file yet; treat names of agencies, dates and figures as reported, not established.

Hours before 9.5 lakh candidates were to write the GPSSB junior clerk exam (1,181 posts, 2,995 centres) on 29 January 2023, the board called it off: Gujarat ATS had caught 15-16 people overnight with the question paper. The trail led to a worker at the Odisha printing press where papers were printed, plus coaching operators in Vadodara and Ahmedabad. It was the third cancellation for this recruitment since 2016. The exam was re-conducted within 100 days as promised, with free bus travel for candidates.

Examination: Junior Clerk Recruitment (Panchayat) 2023
Conducting body: Gujarat Panchayat Service Selection Board (GPSSB)
Exam date: 29 Jan 2023
Leak date (as documented): 28 Jan 2023
Surfaced: 29 Jan 2023
States: Gujarat, Odisha
Candidates affected: ~9.5 lakh
Leak vector: Printing press
State govt at the time: BJP
Last reviewed: 11 Jun 2026

Stall clock — no docket movement for

1,229

days (3y 134d) · last movement 2023-01-29

Accountability Gap Index

national average 0.97 / 7 · how this is scored →

1 / 7

✓ FIR within 30 days
✗ Charge sheet within 180 days
✗ Any conviction
✗ Exam cancelled & fully re-held
✗ Fee refund documented
✗ Official permanently removed
✗ Reform gazette-notified

Each milestone scores one point only when the register holds a document for it. The gap is what the missing points describe.

How it surfaced

Who found it

Police investigation

Gujarat ATS, acting on the printing-press trail from earlier leaks, intercepted the network the night before; the exam was called off hours before reporting time.

The conducting body's first response

Acknowledged it

The board cancelled the exam pre-emptively on the morning of 29 January 2023 — 9.5 lakh candidates were already travelling — and re-held it that April.

The docket

Every legal action on record, in order. Each row cites its document.

28 Jan 2023

Arrest · Gujarat ATS

15-16 persons caught with the paper, incl. coaching operators; printing-press worker from Odisha identified as the source.

per: Junior clerk recruitment exam put off, 16 arrested in Gujarat (The Times of India, 30 Jan 2023)
29 Jan 2023

Exam cancelled · GPSSB

Exam 'postponed' hours before start in the candidates' broader interest.

per: Gujarat: another paper leaked, clerk recruitment exam cancelled (The New Indian Express, 29 Jan 2023)
29 Jan 2023

FIR registered · Gujarat ATS

Case naming coaching operators and the press insider chain.

per: Junior clerk recruitment exam put off, 16 arrested in Gujarat (The Times of India, 30 Jan 2023)

What candidates got

Outcome	Ordered by	Order date	Detail
Exam cancelled (full)	GPSSB	29 Jan 2023	—
Re-exam held	GPSSB	29 Jan 2023 → 9 Apr 2023	Re-exam held on 9 April 2023.

Sources on file

Tier 2 · reported Junior clerk recruitment exam put off, 16 arrested in Gujarat — The Times of India · 30 Jan 2023 [archived]
Tier 2 · reported Gujarat: another paper leaked, clerk recruitment exam cancelled — The New Indian Express · 29 Jan 2023 [archived]

Status log

Every status this register has ever assigned to this case. Append-only.

29 Jan 2023	ALLEGED	Allegations surfaced publicly.
28 Jan 2023	ALLEGED → ARRESTS_MADE	15-16 persons caught with the paper, incl. coaching operators; printing-press worker from Odisha identified as the source.

Act on this record

File an RTI on this case pre-filled from the docket · RTI Act 2005 · ₹10 fee

The application below is pre-filled from this case file. Add your name and address, then send it to the Public Information Officer of Gujarat ATS — online via rtionline.gov.in (central bodies) or your state RTI portal.

To: The Public Information Officer,
Gujarat ATS

Subject: Request under the Right to Information Act, 2005 — Gujarat junior clerk exam called off 4 hours before start

Under the Right to Information Act 2005, I request the following information:

1. Current status of FIR No. [number] dated 29 Jan 2023 concerning the question paper leak in Junior Clerk Recruitment (Panchayat) 2023.
2. Whether a charge sheet has been filed in this matter; if yes, its date and the court where it was filed.
3. Names and current postings of all officials suspended in connection with this matter.
4. Whether any suspended official has been reinstated; if yes, the order reference and date.
5. Date and outcome of the last court hearing in this matter.

I am enclosing the application fee of Rs. 10 as required. If this application falls outside your office's purview, kindly transfer it under Section 6(3) of the Act and inform me.

Regards,
[Applicant name]
[Address]
[Date]

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