A typing skill test for the recruitment of clerks at the Bombay High Court came under scrutiny on August 16 after candidates across Maharashtra alleged technical failures at several examination centres, including Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Kalyan, Nanded, Washim and Bhandara.
Aspirants reported server failures, malfunctioning keyboards and keypads, screens not displaying properly and candidates being logged out or not being logged in simultaneously. At a centre in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, candidates alleged that the server failed soon after the 10-minute test began, leaving some unable to complete the assessment.
The disruption triggered protests, including a sit-in by more than 600 candidates at Kalyan’s APMC Market centre. Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke joined protesting candidates in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and demanded a fresh examination, arguing that an entire shift could not be fairly assessed if its equipment and server were malfunctioning.
The Bombay High Court, however, said the typing test was conducted smoothly across Maharashtra while acknowledging that technical issues had been reported at certain centres, particularly Kalyan and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
The Registrar (Personnel) said the reported issues linked to the agency conducting the examination were being examined and that candidates would be informed about the appropriate course of action through an official communication. A High Court official also said Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’s Principal District Judge met the protesters and that the matter would be placed before the High Court committee for a decision.
Glitches Disrupt Timed Test
The controversy centres on a typing assessment that formed the latest stage of a recruitment process for 1,380 clerk posts advertised by the Bombay High Court in December 2025. The preliminary examination was held on April 26, 2026, before candidates progressed to the typing skill test.
At Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’s Surana Nagar centre, candidates alleged that the server went down shortly after the examination started and that some computers, keyboards and other peripherals failed to function properly. The test carried 20 marks and required candidates to type a legal passage within 10 minutes, making every minute particularly important.
Candidates also alleged that the examination software did not correctly compare the total number of words typed with the words omitted, raising concerns about how their performance would be assessed. Similar complaints emerged from other centres.
The High Court’s official recruitment portal confirms that the clerk recruitment process covers its Principal Seat at Bombay and its Nagpur and Aurangabad benches, with candidates being taken through screening and subsequent selection stages.
At Kalyan, the disruption reportedly took a different turn. Candidates scheduled for three shifts at the APMC Market centre said computers and keyboards were not functioning properly during the first shift, preventing some aspirants from taking or completing the test.
Candidates from the later shifts subsequently chose not to appear, saying they did not want to risk being marked absent or failing because of technical problems. More than 600 candidates staged a protest outside the centre and sought an assurance that affected aspirants would be allowed another opportunity.
The protest was called off late at night after Kalyan authorities reportedly acknowledged in writing that the examination could not be conducted because of technical problems and that candidates had reported on time but were unable to take the test.
Competing Accounts Emerge
Abhijeet Dipke, who joined the protest in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, said the reported failures had affected the fairness of the recruitment process. “The keyboard and server were not working and candidates were being logged out within 10 minutes,” he said, questioning how an entire shift could be considered fairly assessed under such circumstances.
Dipke demanded that the typing test be conducted afresh and called for an official notification on the re-test. He also sought hard copies of examination-related records for candidates. After candidates at Kalyan contacted him, Dipke spoke to them through a video call and urged them not to withdraw their demand until the issue was resolved.
The High Court’s response has so far been more measured. Its Registrar (Personnel) said the clerk recruitment typing test was conducted smoothly across Maharashtra, while acknowledging that technical issues had been reported at certain centres, particularly in Kalyan and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
The Registrar said the issues, if any, connected with the agency conducting the examination were being examined and that candidates would be informed about the next appropriate course of action.
A High Court official separately said the Principal District Judge in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar met the protesting candidates and assured them that their concerns would be placed before the High Court committee, which would take a decision. The official position therefore does not, at this stage, confirm that the entire examination was compromised or that a statewide re-test has been ordered.
The episode has also produced conflicting accounts about the functioning of examination infrastructure. Candidates have described non-responsive keys, malfunctioning systems, display problems, login failures and automatic log-outs. The scale of the complaints is still being assessed, and there is no official finding that the alleged glitches were deliberate or that candidates were wrongly failed as a result.
What remains central is whether the technical records can establish which candidates were affected, how long disruptions lasted and whether their performance or eligibility was materially impacted. With around 11,000 candidates scheduled to take the test at 19 centres across Maharashtra, even centre-specific failures could have significant consequences for aspirants who have already cleared earlier stages of the recruitment process.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Competitive recruitment examinations carry more than marks on a screen they carry months of preparation, financial costs and the hopes of candidates seeking stable employment. If a candidate’s performance is affected by a faulty keyboard, a failed server or a system that logs them out during a timed assessment, the concern deserves to be examined seriously and transparently.
At the same time, allegations of widespread irregularities should be distinguished from facts established through technical records and an official inquiry. The Bombay High Court’s decision to examine the reported problems is therefore important, but candidates also deserve timely communication about what went wrong and what remedy, if any, will be provided.
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