The Maharashtra government has sent Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) chairperson Vivek Bhimanwar on compulsory leave and appointed IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe as secretary of a committee investigating alleged irregularities, including a paper leak, in MPSC examinations. The decisions followed an 11-day protest by aspirants in Pune.
The government’s action was announced after negotiations between state representatives and protesting students. Public Works Minister and government representative Shivendra Rajे Bhosale said the inquiry committee would be constituted under law and would be headed by a retired High Court judge. The committee has been given 60 days to submit its report.
Bhimanwar said in a post on X that the state government had announced a judicial inquiry into the alleged MPSC paper leak. He said he had decided to go on leave and not remain in office until the inquiry was completed, citing the autonomy and credibility of the commission and the interests of students as his priorities.
The committee will have five members: retired judge Dilip Bhosale, Tukaram Mundhe, IAS officer B D Naik, Ganesh Patil and police officer Lakshmi Gautam. Mundhe, who is currently the commissioner of Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration, has been given the secretary’s role for the inquiry.
The inquiry follows a prolonged student protest over alleged irregularities in examinations conducted by the state recruitment body. The protesters had made Bhimanwar’s resignation one of their principal demands. After discussions lasting about two hours at the protest site, the government representatives announced a set of decisions in the presence of NCP (SP) legislator Rohit Pawar, Congress leader Vishwajeet Kadam and other student representatives.
According to the draft decisions presented to the protesters, the government also agreed to withdraw cases registered against demonstrators. It further agreed to double the number of Group C posts to be filled through the 2027 examination. The protesters agreed to withdraw their agitation after the announcements.
The dispute places the focus on the institutional safeguards governing public recruitment examinations in Maharashtra. The committee’s mandate covers alleged irregularities in MPSC examinations, while its report is expected to establish the facts behind the complaints and determine the next steps. The inquiry is scheduled to run for 60 days, with its report due at the end of that period.
