The Gujarat Council of Educational Research and Training (GCERT) is in the spotlight due to a printing scam amounting to over ₹7 crore.

Justice M R Mengdey of Gujarat High Court rejected bail applications of Nikunj Thekadi, the director of Reliable Art Printing Pvt Ltd, and Harshad Patel, an accounts officer at GCERT.

The court highlighted substantial evidence from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), pointing to financial irregularities.

Reliable Art Printing was contracted to produce various educational materials, such as books and brochures, by the GCERT.

The contract was awarded to the company with a specified printing rate of ₹0.27 and ₹0.29 per double-sided page, but the final billing was manipulated to inflate costs and defraud the government. 

Advocate Arun Oza, representing GCERT, strongly opposed the bail requests, stressing the severity of the allegations. He argued that the accused had engaged in serious financial misconduct that resulted in losses to the state.

Additionally, the High Court noted that a show-cause notice had been issued to Reliable Art Printing, mandating an investigation into the fraud and directing efforts to recover the embezzled funds.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is expected to take further action to recover the misappropriated money and hold accountable everyone involved in this widespread corruption.

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