Gujarat HC quashes ‘Unfair Means’ charges against accused who let dummy candidate appear on his behalf in exams

In a significant ruling, the Gujarat High Court has quashed charges under the Gujarat Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2023, against Mahesh Chauhan, who was accused of allowing a dummy candidate to appear in his place during a recruitment examination.

The high court quashed offences punishable under Sections 12(1), 12(3), and 12(4) of the Act against Chauhan in connection with the Junior Clerk exam held on February 12, 2017.

The court observed that the Act came into force only on March 3, 2023, while the alleged offence occurred years earlier. There is no provision in the statute for retrospective application.

An FIR was registered in April 2023 at Bharatnagar Police Station in Bhavnagar, invoking the provisions of the new Act.

The accused counsel argued that under Section 5 of the General Clauses Act, statutes are presumed to have prospective effect unless the legislature explicitly provides for retrospectively. Applying the Act retrospectively would violate Article 20 of the Constitution, which protects against the applicant, counsel contended.

The court noted that a coordinate bench had earlier allowed discharge applications for several co-accused in the same case.

The Additional Public Prosecutor argued that the applicant-accused had allowed a dummy candidate to appear on his behalf in examination. The charges are similar to that of other co-accused.

However the FIR remains active with respect to other charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Information Technology Act.