3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Feb 20, 2026 06:10 PM IST
At least 26 staff members of a junior college in Maharashtra’s Washim district have been booked after a mass copying incident during the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examination. The incident came to light during a surprise inspection on February 16. It was found that 581 students had allegedly indulged in mass copying at the centre.
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The incident, according to a report by The Indian Express, took place during the Physics paper at Shri Mainagiri Maharaj Junior College. A flying squad conducted the inspection and detected large-scale malpractice at the examination centre. Following this, an FIR was registered against 26 staffers posted at the centre. Officials have also moved a proposal to suspend those booked in the case. The answer sheets of the students involved are now under scrutiny, and further action will be taken as per board rules.
The Washim case is the fourth such incident reported during the ongoing Maharashtra HSC examinations. Earlier, three mass-copying cases were recorded in Beed, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and Jalna districts on the first day of the exam during the English paper.
In Beed’s Chausala, an FIR was registered against 17 people at an Arts and Science Junior College after students were found copying with alleged help from supervisors and the centre director. Of them, 12 examination staff have been suspended. In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’s Jaitapur, 24 people were booked in a similar case at Rashtriya Higher Secondary School, and 21 have been suspended. In Jalna, malpractice was observed at three schools, leading to the suspension of six staff members.
Nandkumar Bedse, interim chairperson of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, said strict action would continue against those involved in examination malpractices.
Earlier, on February 17, action was also reported from Beed district, where five teachers were suspended for allegedly facilitating large-scale copying during the Class 12 HSC examinations. The malpractice was detected on February 10, the first day of the exams, after drone-mounted surveillance cameras captured supervisors across 16 examination halls allegedly assisting students. An FIR was registered against 17 teachers, including the chief conductor of Centre 224 in Chousala, under provisions of the Maharashtra Universities, Boards and Other Specified Examinations (Prevention of Malpractices) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Officials said five suspended teachers were from Bhalchandra Vidyalaya in Limbaganesh, while 12 others remain under investigation. The district administration has directed institutions to suspend those implicated.
In Nanded, the district administration served a show-cause notice to a Class 12 exam centre superintendent after a surprise inspection revealed multiple lapses. During a visit to a centre in Kandhar tehsil, the Collector found unused question papers not stored under CCTV surveillance, teachers without identity cards and improper seating arrangements.
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Earlier, on February 11, another mass-copying case was reported in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district during the English paper. An FIR was registered against 23 persons, including invigilators, after CCTV footage confirmed that students at Rashtriya Higher Secondary School in Jaitapur were copying from one another’s answer sheets. Police registered the offence under the Maharashtra Prevention of Malpractices at University, Board and Other Specified Examinations Act, 1982. The entire examination staff at the centre was replaced following the incident, and suspension proceedings against the Zilla Parishad employees allegedly involved have been initiated.
