The Gujarat High Court dropped the main charges against two men who were arrested for cheating in the public services recruitment exam in 2018, ruling that the police applied wrong legal provisions but allowed the police to prosecute the two under the applicable provisions.
The First Information Report (FIR) booked the two brothers, Hardik and Rahul Purohit, under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (disobedience to orders duly issued by a public servant) and Section 66-E of the Information Technology Act, which provides a maximum penalty of three years for taking and sending a picture of a private area to any person.
In his ruling on June 16, Chief Justice Raval said neither condition was applicable and set them aside. However, the judge maintained that the ruling did not quash the FIR registered for cheating in the examination conducted by the Gujarat Public Service Commission (GPSC), and the police can charge any other offense deemed applicable by the investigating officer.
The case relates to an FIR registered at Sector 7 police station in Gandhinagar on November 26, 2018.
According to the prosecution, the invigilators informed the examination supervisor that Hardik Purohit was using a mobile phone inside the examination hall. The candidate was accused of photographing the GPSC question paper and sending the pictures via WhatsApp to his brother Rahul Purohit.
