THE Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) 2026 in Maharashtra was postponed on Saturday, a day before it was to be held, after police in Thane district found that a part of its question paper had been leaked and arrested three people. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered the constitution of a Special Investigation Team headed by Thane Joint Commissioner of Police Panjabrao Ugale to probe the paper leak, sources said. Fadnavis spoke to School Education Minister Dada Bhuse and state Director General of Police Sadanand Date and asked them to take strict action against the culprits, they added. As many as six lakh candidates were scheduled to appear for the examination across 1,728 centres at 37 locations, officials said.

 

While police said they had arrested three persons from Bhiwandi in Thane district in connection with the leak and exposed an “inter-State syndicate”, authorities said the revised exam schedule will be published on the website of the Maharashtra State Council of Examination (MSCE). Police have sent multiple teams to other States to trace the source of the leak, officials said. Bhiwandi Police arrested three individuals, originally from Bihar and Haryana, with copies of the TET-2026 question paper, according to an official release. “On June 27, DCP (Zone-2) of Bhiwandi, Pawan Bansod, received a confidential tip-off that a few individuals were planning to sell the leaked question papers of the upcoming TET exam. Multiple police teams verified the information and detained three suspects. Police recovered copies of the TET exam papers scheduled for Sunday,” the release said. Education Department officials confirmed that the seized papers were indeed the original question papers for the June 28 examination, it stated, adding that the arrested men belonged to an inter-State syndicate.

 

A case was registered at the Kongaon police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Maharashtra Competitive Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and the Maharashtra Prevention of Malpractices at University, Board and Other Specified Examinations Act. Offences under the Maharashtra Competitive Examination Act are non-bailable, officials said. “Given the gravity of the situation.... the exam scheduled for June 28, 2026, has been postponed,” the MSCE said, adding that the postponement was necessary to ensure absolute transparency and to allow police to conduct a through, uncompromised investigation.

 

The council urged candidates not to believe rumours, and said that revised dates for the exam will be published soon on its website. MSCE Deputy Commissioner Priya Shinde said the process of organising an examination of this scale typically takes around three weeks. “Candidates who had registered for the examination will not have to register again. Since the candidates are not at fault, no re-registration fee will be charged,” she said. Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde termed the paper leak “highly outrageous”, saying he will speak to CM Devendra Fadnavis for registration of a case under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against its masterminds.