MPSC Exam Leakage – Segregate Wrongdoers & Protect Innocent Candidates
Respondent no.3 MPSC had conducted departmental examination for 137 posts of the promotional post of Sub-Inspector, State Excise, Group C. The examined provided for two papers of 100 marks each on the basis of multiple choice questions.
The petitioners are working as Constable in the State Excise Department.
It came to the knowledge of the petitioners, one week prior to the examination, that an unofficial PDF containing topic wise and sub topic wise distribution of the marks for Paper-I and Paper-II came to be circulated on two different WhatsApp groups
The ;petitioners filed application dated 16.10.2025 for cancellation of the examination.
The examination was conducted on 23.09.2025, it came to the notice that the actual number of questions in Paper-I and Paper-II exactly matched the topic-wise and sub topic-wise distribution contained in the unofficial PDF
The Maharashtra Administrative Administrative Tribunal held that there was lease of marking pattern. However, the question was whether the entire examination was vitiated.
the question involved in the present petition, whether the leakage of marking pattern was widespread that had undermined the entire process and whether it was impossible to weed out those benefiting from the irregularities or illegalities.
As it is noted that, after such leakage of information, examination was held after a gap of one week. Considering the vastness of the syllabus and time gap between the leakage and date of examination, it was rightly held by a majority view, that it was difficult for any candidate to gain any benefit.
Ithe present case, the guilty candidates can be segregated and selection process for the untainted candidates proceed to come to the logical conclusion. This requires to be done in view of the principle of equality envisaged under Article 16(1)
In the present matter, a care must be taken to ensure that innocents are not unfairly penalized alongside the wrongdoers by cancelling the entire process. In the circumstances, we do not find any perversity or illegality committed by the learned Tribunal in dismissing the original application
Judgment dated 29.8.2026 of the High Court of Bombay Bench at Nagpur in Writ Petition No.5704 of 2026 of Ravindra Dinkar Ingole and others Vs. The State of Maharashtra and others
