PMC JE Recruitment Row: No Paper Leak, Examination Process Not Compromised, Says Pune Municipal Commissioner

Shivajinagar, 30th August 2026: Pune Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram has said there was no question paper leak or compromise of the examination process in the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) Junior Engineer (JE) recruitment examination, and defended the decision to proceed with appointments of candidates found to be untainted.

In a statement posted on social media, Ram said the available evidence and data logs showed that the irregularity was “individual in nature”, was detected through the examination system’s analytics and was promptly contained.

According to the Municipal Commissioner, the PMC identified the candidates involved in the alleged malpractice before any appointment was made. The online examination system, he said, enabled the civic body to segregate the candidates allegedly involved in the irregularity from those who were not.

“The available evidence and data logs indicate that there was no paper leak and no compromise of the examination process,” Ram said.

The PMC has subsequently proceeded with the appointments of candidates who were found to be untainted.

Ram also referred to judicial precedents, saying they recognise the principle of separating candidates involved in malpractice from those who have not been found to have committed any wrongdoing.

PMC publishes IBPS report

In an effort to address concerns over the recruitment process, the PMC has published the IBPS report in its entirety on its official website, Ram said.

He said the report had been made available so that candidates and other stakeholders could examine its findings themselves.

The Municipal Commissioner added that candidates or others who disagree with the PMC’s decisions can approach the state government or courts.

FIR registered, police investigation underway

Ram said an FIR has been registered in connection with the matter and that the police would conduct an independent investigation.

“All relevant information will be shared in accordance with the law and the investigation process,” he said.

The Commissioner also stressed the distinction between a question paper leak and cheating by an individual candidate during an examination.

“It is important to distinguish between a paper leak and cheating by an individual candidate during an examination. They are not the same,” Ram said.

‘Wrongdoing of a few should not punish many’

Defending the decision not to cancel the entire recruitment process, Ram said the fact that three candidates were allegedly found to have cheated could not, by itself, justify penalising all other candidates who had prepared for the examination and followed the rules.

He said the civic body’s approach was intended to ensure that action against those allegedly involved in malpractice did not result in injustice to candidates who had earned their positions fairly.

“The wrongdoing of a few” should not result in injustice to the many candidates who followed the rules, he said.

The PMC’s clarification comes amid concerns surrounding the Junior Engineer recruitment examination and the action taken against candidates allegedly involved in irregularities.