Congress flags `discrepancy' in board marks, MH-CET scores of top-rankers, seeks probe

In one case, a student with only 39 per cent aggregate marks in HSC PCM was among the top 20 rankers, Sawant said.Sawant also referred to the case of a student ranked 66th who had scored 22 marks in mathematics in Class 10 and 33 marks in mathematics in Class 12, but secured 99.971 percentile in MH-CET.

The Congress on Tuesday alleged serious irregularities in the last year's Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (MH-CET), claiming that students with very low marks in Class 10 and 12 board examinations secured near-perfect scores in the test conducted for engineering and other technical courses.

The CET Cell of the state government, however, denied the allegations of irregularities, and maintained that the process was completely transparent.

At least 22 students with low scores in board examinations were among the top performers in MH-CET 2025-26, said Congress leader Sachin Sawant, claiming that the scale of irregularities was similar to that of the NEET-UG paper leak case.

''Students who scored barely 35 to 40 per cent in Class 10 and 12 examinations have scored 100 percentile in MH-CET. This is a serious irregularity and must be investigated thoroughly,'' said Sawant.

When a student is said to have scored 100 percentile marks, it means they have scored more marks than almost 99.9 per cent of other candidates.

Citing examples to support his allegations, Sawant said a student who scored 37 per cent in Class 10 obtained 99.971 percentile in MH-CET.

Two students who had scored 51 per cent in Class 12 secured 100 percentile, while students with 45 per cent, 39 per cent and even 35 per cent marks in Class 12 also obtained 100 percentile.

Students ranked 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 15, 16, 17 and 18 in MH-CET mathematics, all of whom scored 100 percentile, had an average of only 64.3 per cent marks in the HSC mathematics paper, the Congress leader said.

Of these, six students had scored below the average, with marks of 60, 54, 53, 53, 40 and 35 in HSC mathematics, he said.

Six of the top 20 rankers in MH-CET had scored less than 60 per cent in their HSC Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics (PCM) aggregate. In one case, a student with only 39 per cent aggregate marks in HSC PCM was among the top 20 rankers, Sawant said.

Sawant also referred to the case of a student ranked 66th who had scored 22 marks in mathematics in Class 10 and 33 marks in mathematics in Class 12, but secured 99.971 percentile in MH-CET. The student's overall PCM score in HSC was 47.67 per cent, he said.

''These glaring discrepancies between board examination performance and CET results raise serious questions. Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil must explain how this happened and who controls the examination process,'' Sawant said.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's annual 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' programme, Sawant said repeated controversies involving examinations such as NEET and MH-CET were a matter of serious concern.

He would submit a fresh letter with detailed data to the MH-CET authorities, the Congress leader said, calling for an urgent probe.

The CET Cell of the Maharashtra government dismissed the allegations of irregularities in the 2025-26 BE/BTech merit list and said the admission process was conducted in a completely transparent manner.

In a statement, the CET Cell said it wanted to assure students, parents and public representatives that there had been no irregularity or scam in the conduct of the CET process.