Aurangabad bench of Bombay HC
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar : Aurangabad bench of Bombay high court has held that teachers appointed before 2001 must clear the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) to become eligible for promotion, rejecting a petition challenging the mandatory certification requirement. The intervenors also relied on an April 15, 2026, ruling of Bombay HC’s principal bench in Shailesh Kashinath Raut & Ors. vs State of Maharashtra, which clarified that teachers appointed before 2001 are required to clear TET for promotion. Opposing the plea, advocates Ajinkya Reddy and Vishnu Kande, appearing for intervenors, cited Supreme Court’s ruling in Anjuman-E-Taleem Trust vs State of Maharashtra, which held that in-service teachers must acquire TET qualification before their candidature for promotion could be considered. Reiterating the Supreme Court’s directions, the HC noted that pre-TET-era teachers with less than five years of service remaining before retirement were exempted from acquiring the qualification but cannot seek promotion. The court further observed that the Supreme Court’s mandate applied to all in-service teachers seeking promotion, whether through the regular promotional channel or departmental examinations. Noting that the principal bench judgment was not brought to the Kolhapur bench’s notice, the Aurangabad bench relied on both the Supreme Court and principal bench rulings to reject the petitioners’ contention and uphold the TET requirement.