Bombay HC upholds cancelled TET results but lifts lifetime ban on tainted candidates

The High Court has ruled on the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) scam. Candidates in the 2018 and 2019 TET were accused of getting their marks raised by swapping answer sheets.

A bench of Justice Kishore Sant and Justice Jitendra Jain delivered the ruling. The court upheld the action by the government and the Maharashtra State Council of Examinations in cancelling the results of the candidates. However, it set aside the lifetime ban that barred them from ever taking the examination again.

The court said that before a permanent ban is imposed on anyone, the person must be given a chance to speak and be heard. That was not done here and the ban was imposed directly. This is against the principles of natural justice, so the court quashed the ban. The candidates' earlier results remain cancelled, but they can appear for the TET again. A second chance has opened for them.

The court also made clear that lifting the ban does not mean the candidates are presumed innocent. The allegations against them still stand. The government and the examination council can investigate them, and action can be taken again if they are found guilty. Those who hid the truth from the court, whose names appeared in the police statement but who concealed this in their petitions, will not get the benefit of the ruling. The action taken against them on August 3, 2022 will stand, and the court dismissed their petitions.

The most important issue in the case concerned teachers already in service. Many older teachers were in difficulty after the TET was made mandatory. On this, the court relied on the Supreme Court's judgment in the Anjuman Ishaat-e-Taleem Trust case, delivered on May 29, 2026.

The court said serving teachers have been given until August 31, 2028 to pass the TET. They must pass it by then. If they do not, their jobs could be at risk.

For now, the orders stopping their salaries and their Shalarth IDs will remain as they are. The government has been told to complete the entire investigation by December 31, 2027.

Teachers who have already passed the CTET, the TAIT or another government-recognised examination need not worry. They cannot be dismissed from service merely because their TET result was cancelled. But if criminal proceedings or punitive action over the TET scam are pending against them, this ruling will not protect them.

Advocates V. D. Sapkal, S. R. Sapkal, A. R. Sayyed and V. S. Panpatte appeared for the petitioners. V. D. Hon and P. S. Patil argued for the government, and A. R. Nikam appeared for the examination council. Overall, the court upheld the government's action cancelling the results but held the permanent ban wrong, giving candidates and teachers another opportunity.