In a significant relief for teachers, the Bombay High Court has ruled that educators who cleared the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) after the March 31, 2019, deadline will not lose their jobs or promotional benefits, provided they were appointed after the exam was made mandatory in Maharashtra in 2013.
The bench quashed previous orders that had refused approval for the transfer of such teachers from unaided to aided posts, observing that once the candidates obtained the required TET or CTET qualification, their eligibility could not be denied. The court stated that “the impugned orders refusing approval to their transfer from the unaided establishment to the aided establishment, on account of failing to acquire TET prior to March 31, 2019, shall stand quashed and set aside, in cases wherein the petitioners have acquired the TET/CTET qualification.”
The judgment was delivered while hearing petitions by Sagar Dattatray Chorghe and Sangeeta Ramchandra Salunke, both appointed in 2013, who had initially not cleared the test but later qualified the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) in 2021. Earlier, their transfers to aided posts were blocked by state authorities on the grounds of missing the cut-off date.
The court referred to the Supreme Court’s ruling on TET, which clarified that while the test is a mandatory qualification, teachers who passed it later could not be denied service continuity or career advancement. Applying this precedent, the High Court concluded that teachers appointed post-2013 should not face termination or career stagnation merely because they cleared the test after the deadline.
Accordingly, the bench directed the authorities to approve the petitioners’ transfers from unaided to aided posts and grant them service benefits, including the issuance of Shalarth-ID, as long as no other legal obstacles exist.
This ruling marks a shift from the High Court’s earlier 2021 decision, which had disqualified teachers who failed to meet the March 2019 deadline from seeking transfers, approvals, or promotions. The latest order now paves the way for many educators in Maharashtra to secure stability in service and career growth.