Alleged road blockades in Pune on one side, more than 70,000 vacancies on the other: the Bombay High Court has said that protesting MPSC students are not anti-nationals, asking the Maharashtra Government to take genuine steps to restore their trust in the recruitment system and urging the students to return to their studies.
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Mumbai: Students agitating over the functioning of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) cannot be termed anti-nationals, the Bombay High Court observed on Wednesday (October 7). It asked the State to take sincere steps to restore their trust, and requested the students to resume classes and seek prior permission for any further protest [Petition Over Pune MPSC Student Protests].
Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna, sitting as a division bench, issued notice to the State and adjourned the matter by three weeks.
The bench on the students
Pune is an education hub, the bench said, and the students who come there are genuinely interested in their studies, so if they are agitating, there must be serious grievances. Among its oral observations:
They are students and not anti nationals…The moment one exam is over and they realise there was some hanky panky in the process, students have every right to agitate.
What the petition says
The petition before the Court highlights the difficulties other citizens in Pune face because of the ongoing protests. It alleges that the protesting students have blocked main roads, making it severely difficult for people to move around. The students, for their part, are concerned with the overall functioning of the MPSC, which has more than 70,000 vacancies to fill, and allege that exams are manipulated and papers are leaked. Those are the students’ allegations, and the Court has not examined them.
Maharashtra Advocate General Dr Milind Sathe told the Court that the students have four demands: resignation of the MPSC chairman, a fee of Rs 100 and offline exams for all examinations (the latter two accepted by the State), and, on the first demand, a representation has been sent to the Governor for an appropriate decision. He said student leaders had met the Chief Minister on September 30, that the police had taken a very restrained approach, and that registering an FIR would affect the careers of the protesting students.
No inconvenience to citizens
Public inconvenience should not occur, the Court stressed. It requested all agitating parties to withdraw the protest and join classes, and said that anyone who wishes to agitate must obtain permission and find a place for it, ensuring no inconvenience to citizens. “It’s a peace loving society. It’s an education hub,” the bench said, adding that no message should go across the country that Pune is not a fit place for students.
What the State has to file
The State was asked to respond in ‘black and white’ on how it proposes to carry out recruitment and to spell out every detail of vacancies in each department. The Chief Justice said: “Within 3 weeks, you furnish all the information.” The Advocate General said an affidavit will be filed before the next date of hearing. On that date, the bench said, it would examine what has been done, and the recruitment drive must proceed at pace with examinations conducted in a fair manner.
Two interests in balance
The hearing sets two interests side by side: the freedom of citizens to move on public roads, which the petition seeks to protect, and the right of students to voice grievances about public recruitment. The Court has decided neither side’s claims. It has asked the students to move to a permitted venue, and the State to put its recruitment plan and vacancy position on affidavit.
Case Title: Petition Over Pune MPSC Student Protests (title not available)
Bench: Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna, Bombay High Court
Date of Hearing: October 7, 2026
Appearances: For the State of Maharashtra, Advocate General Dr Milind Sathe