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Tukaram Mundhe MPSC inquiry panel: what it means for aspirants
Maharashtra has made FDA commissioner Tukaram Mundhe secretary of a five-member judicial panel that has 60 days to probe alleged MPSC paper leaks, including under past chairpersons. MPSC chairman Vivek Bhimanwar has gone on leave, and the 11-day Pune protest is over. Here is who is on the panel, what the government promised and what is still open.
TL;DRThe short version
- Tukaram Mundhe, the IAS officer who heads Maharashtra's FDA, is secretary of a five-member panel led by retired judge Dilip Bhosale that has 60 days to probe alleged MPSC paper leaks and irregularities, covering present and past chairpersons and members (India Today, TOI).
- MPSC chairman Vivek Bhimanwar has gone on leave until the inquiry ends. That ended the 11-day aspirants' protest in Pune early on Monday, 12 Oct (TOI, The Hindu).
- Promised to aspirants: cases against protesters withdrawn, Group C seats for the 2027 exam doubled, 70,000 vacant posts filled over three years, and exams held offline. These are government assurances; the official orders are still to come (TOI).
- Watch for new exam dates and notices on the official MPSC website: mpsc.gov.inStudents will be able to submit evidence to the panel (TOI), but how to do so had not been announced when we checked.
Key facts
- Panel
- Five-member inquiry committee on MPSC exam irregularities, including paper leaks
- Chair
- Retired judge Dilip Bhosale (former Chief Justice, Allahabad High Court)
- Secretary
- Tukaram Mundhe, IAS, Maharashtra FDA Commissioner (keeps that post)
- Members
- IPS officer Laxmi Gautam, ex-IAS Ganesh Patil, retired judge P.D. Naik
- Deadline
- 60 days to report to the state government
- Scope
- Exams incl. FDA, Group B, police sub-inspector, agriculture, excise; tenures of present and past chairs and members
- MPSC chairman
- Vivek Bhimanwar, on leave until the inquiry is completed
- If misconduct is found
- Recommendation to the President under Article 317, says CM Fadnavis
Short answer: Tukaram Mundhe is trending because the Maharashtra government has made him secretary of the judicial panel investigating alleged paper leaks at the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC). Protesting aspirants had specifically asked for him. "As demanded by the students, Mundhe will serve as its secretary," public works minister Shivendra Raje Bhosale said (TOI).
Who is on the MPSC inquiry panel
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Chairperson | Retired judge Dilip Bhosale, former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court |
| Secretary | Tukaram Mundhe, IAS, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Maharashtra |
| Member | Laxmi Gautam, IPS |
| Member | Ganesh Patil, former IAS |
| Member | Retired judge P.D. Naik |
Sources: India Today, The Hindu, ThePrint, TOI.
Mundhe keeps his FDA job and takes on the panel role as an extra responsibility (CNBC-TV18). The panel has 60 days to submit its report.
What the panel will look into
According to TOI, the panel's remit is expected to cover several exams, including recruitment linked to the FDA, Group B services, police sub-inspector, and the agriculture and excise departments. One of the protesters' main grievances was the Drug Inspector exam paper-leak controversy.
India Today reports that the panel will examine the commission's work under its present and past chairpersons and members. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that if it finds misconduct by a chairperson, the state will send a recommendation to the President under Article 317 of the Constitution, which covers the removal and suspension of Public Service Commission chairs and members.
Why the MPSC chairman went on leave
The aspirants' main demand was the removal of MPSC chairman Vivek Bhimanwar, who was appointed in December 2025 (TOI). At 1:25 AM on Monday, 12 October, he posted on X that he would go on leave until the inquiry is completed. "Throughout my entire life, I have always prioritised ethics," he wrote. After that, the protesters at SM Joshi Bridge in Pune called off their 11-day agitation (TOI, The Hindu).
What the government promised aspirants
As reported by TOI and India Today, the government has committed to:
- withdraw cases registered against protesters during the agitation;
- double the Group C posts to be filled through the 2027 exam (India Today says this is the Group C exam scheduled for January);
- fill 70,000 vacant posts over three years;
- raise MPSC membership to 11 and hold commission exams offline;
- change the tehsildar recruitment ratio from 60:40 to 50:50, and adopt a common syllabus for police recruitment;
- run background checks on the MPSC chairman and secretary before they are appointed.
These are promises the minister read out from a draft signed by the chief secretary (TOI). They are not yet formal government resolutions, so wait for the official notifications before you plan around new vacancy numbers.
What is still unresolved
- Exam format: one group of protesters wants MPSC to go back to objective-type papers; another wants to keep the descriptive format introduced in 2025. The government has not decided (TOI).
- How to submit evidence: TOI reports that students will be able to submit evidence to the panel. The process had not been published when we checked.
- New exam dates: check mpsc.gov.in for official notices rather than social media posts.
Trend Monitor
'tukaram mundhe' was among the top Google Trends Trending Now searches in India on the morning of 13 Oct (2,000+ searches), with Marathi outlets leading on his role in the MPSC probe (Google Trends India Trending Now RSS, read about 12:15 PM IST, 13 Oct).
- tukaram mundhe2,000+ searches (Trending Now)
Google Trends, India, rising queries, 30 days