Nagaland service associations continue protest over alleged IAS recruitment irregularities

The Joint Coordination Committee (JCC), an umbrella body comprising the CANSSEA, NSSA, NF&ASA, NIDA, and FONSESA, has made a fervent appeal to the citizens of Nagaland to uphold the principles of meritocracy and good governance, even as it continues its protest against what it alleges to be a government attempt to induct an ineligible candidate into the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) through non-transparent means.

The JCC has been on a black badge protest since September 24, 2025, and a Pen Down Strike since October 14, 2025, after several representations to the state government went unanswered. In a public statement, the JCC clarified that its protest is not directed against any individual or the government itself, but against policies that, it claims, “subvert meritocracy and distort the very concept of fairness in public service.”

According to the JCC, the controversy traces back to 2018 when the Nagaland Civil Service Association (NCSA) recommended to the government that only those recruited through the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC) should be eligible for induction into the IAS under the Indian Administrative Service (Recruitment) Rules, 1954.

Subsequently, a Vacancy Circular dated July 6, 2020, approved by the Chief Minister, incorporated Clause-4, which restricted eligibility to officers recruited through the NPSC. Based on this, one non–State Civil Service (SCS) officer was inducted into the IAS without any objections from the Cabinet, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), or the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

However, when the same eligibility clause was reiterated in a March 10, 2025 Circular, the JCC alleges that the government later withdrew the notification on April 24, 2025, and issued a new circular that relaxed the eligibility criteria, allowing non-NPSC appointees to apply.

According to the JCC, 11 applications were received under the March 10 notification, of which 10 were eligible. Six of these had Outstanding Annual Performance Appraisal Reports (APARs), and five were eventually shortlisted by the Screening Committee on September 25, 2025. But as revealed through an RTI disclosure, the JCC claims the process was manipulated to favor a non-NPSC recruit, under the pretext of procedural correction.

The JCC contends that withdrawing the March 10 circular and replacing it with the April 24 version was an act of favoritism and administrative impropriety, aimed at paving the way for a particular candidate’s induction into the IAS. “When even the lowest government recruitments are routed through NPSC or NSSB, there cannot be separate rules for IAS induction,” the statement read.

The committee has urged the government and the Cabinet Sub-Committee to rectify procedural lapses and restore the March 10, 2025 Circular in its entirety, in keeping with constitutional, moral, and procedural propriety.

Reaffirming its position, the JCC demanded:

Cancellation of the current Panel List prepared under the April 24 Circular, citing procedural errors and ineligibility.

Restoration of the March 10 Circular in toto, in adherence to merit-based principles.

“The JCC’s movement is a call of conscience — to protect the sanctity of governance and ensure that administrative posts of the highest order are filled solely on merit,” the statement concluded, urging citizens to support the cause in the interest of good governance and posterity.