The Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (MAHA TET) 2026, scheduled for June 28, was postponed a day before the examination after police uncovered an alleged question paper leak.
According to the Maharashtra State Council of Examination (MSCE), the examination was to be conducted for nearly six lakh candidates across 1,728 centres at 37 locations in Maharashtra.
What happened?
The postponement followed a police raid in Bhiwandi, Thane district, on a tip-off on the morning of June 27, 2026, that the Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test question paper was being sold ahead of the next day's exam. Officers detained three men in the Kongaon area, Rajiv Kumar Sao, 45, Akashkumar Swarajkumar, 30, and Dhiraj Balraj Singh, 28. A search produced four physical sets of the TET question paper. Officials from the Maharashtra State Council of Examinations confirmed the seized papers matched the original exam papers.
Following this, the exam was postponed indefinitely. The council said candidates would not need to re-register or pay a fresh fee. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a Special Investigation Team. Investigators allege the papers had been brought from Delhi and were being sold for nearly Rs 1.5 crore. The accused are from Bihar and Haryana, according to police.
A revised examination date has not yet been announced, and candidates will be required to download fresh admit cards.
What is MAHA TET?
The Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) is a mandatory qualification for candidates seeking appointment as teachers for Classes 1 to 8 in government and many aided schools.
Following the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) made the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) a mandatory qualification for teachers of Classes I to VIII. Maharashtra conducted its first TET in 2013.
The examination consists of two papers:
Paper I: For teachers of Classes 1 to 5
Paper II: For teachers of Classes 6 to 8
Qualifying the TET does not guarantee employment but is a mandatory eligibility requirement for recruitment.
Maharashtra's history of TET irregularities
The latest incident is not Maharashtra's first examination controversy.
The state's TET examination has previously been linked to one of the country's biggest recruitment scandals.
Investigations into the 2018, 2019 and 2020 TET examinations revealed large-scale manipulation of candidates' marks through tampering with Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) data during evaluation.
Police alleged that thousands of candidates illegally obtained qualifying certificates after marks were increased in exchange for money.
The investigation eventually led to the arrest of several officials, including former Maharashtra State Examination Council Commissioner Tukaram Supe and IAS officer Sushil Khodwekar.
In August 2022, the Maharashtra State Examination Council permanently debarred 7,880 candidates after verifying that they had fraudulently obtained TET certificates.
How a paper leak typically works
Paper leak operations typically involve a coordinated nexus of corrupt officials, coaching centre owners, printing press staff, and middlemen. Leaks can originate at multiple points, among printing press staff with access to master copies, during the transportation and storage of sealed papers, or through insiders at examination centres.
Once obtained, distribution accelerates through WhatsApp groups and Telegram channels, allowing a leaked paper to reach thousands of candidates within minutes. In the TET 2026 case, police intercepted the suspects before papers reportedly entered wider circulation.
Potential vulnerabilities include:
Question paper preparation
Printing and packaging
Transportation
Storage before the examination
Distribution to examination centres
Insider access by officials or contractors
What does the law say?
Following a series of national examination controversies, Parliament enacted the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
The law criminalises organised cheating in public examinations, including:
Question paper leaks
Unauthorised access to examination papers
Tampering with computer systems
Impersonation
Organised examination fraud
The Act provides for imprisonment of three to five years and fines of up to Rs 10 lakh for individuals involved in unfair means. Organised crime syndicates involved in examination fraud can face even stricter penalties, including imprisonment of up to 10 years and fines of up to Rs 1 crore.
What happens now
The SIT has been tasked with tracing the source of the leaked paper, establishing the financial trail, identifying whether copies were distributed elsewhere, and locating the two absconding suspects. Investigators are also examining whether the racket is connected to other ongoing paper leak probes across states.
The MSCE had introduced additional security measures for TET following this year's NEET-UG controversy. The new leak has renewed questions about the adequacy of those safeguards.
No new examination date has been announced. Existing candidate registrations remain valid.
