Gujarat High Court
Ketan Harkantbhai Joshi vs State Of Gujarat on 16 March, 2026
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.MA/17488/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 16/03/2026
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION (FOR QUASHING & SET ASIDE
FIR/ORDER) NO. 17488 of 2023
FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:
HONOURABLE MRS. JUSTICE M. K. THAKKER
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Approved for Reporting Yes No
✔
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KETAN HARKANTBHAI JOSHI
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & ANR.
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Appearance:
H S RATNOTAR(7518) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
MR HANNAN A QURESHI(11351) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
NOTICE SERVED for the Respondent(s) No. 2
VRUNDA SHAH APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MRS. JUSTICE M. K. THAKKER
Date : 16/03/2026
JUDGMENT
1. The present application is filed for quashing of the FIR being C.R. No.11208055220187 of 2022 registered with D. C. B. Police Station, Rajkot City for the offence punishable under Sections 406, 420, 465, 468, 471 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code.
2. As per the case of the complainant, who is Police Inspector, D.C.B. Police Station, Rajkot that the present applicant along with, in connivance with the other 4 accused named in the FIR, Page 1 of 15 Uploaded by Vikramsinh Amarsinh(HCW0055) on Mon Mar 30 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 03 21:57:18 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/17488/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 16/03/2026 undefined had created the affiliation certificates of the school of the Board of Higher Secondary Education, Delhi, opened different schools in the year 2017-2018, opened 57 schools in the year 2017-2018, and had issued bogus mark sheets, where the investigation is concluded and the charge-sheet is filed against all the accused.
3. Heard learned advocate Mr. Hannan A. Qureshi for the applicant and learned APP Ms. Shah for the State.
4. It is submitted by learned advocate Mr. Qureshi that the present applicant came to be appointed as a temporary secretary in the year 2021 on the death of the original trustee, namely Ashok Lakhani. It is further submitted by learned advocate Mr. Qureshi that as per the order passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi in O.A. No.2622 of 2014, it is clarified that Board of Higher Secondary Education, Delhi, is autonomous body which is registered under the Indian Society Act, 1982 and the Board is recognized under the Uttar Pradesh Education Act, 1921. It is further submitted by learned advocate Mr. Qureshi that status with regard to the recognition is the subject matter of the challenge before the High Court at Delhi.
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NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/17488/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 16/03/2026 undefined 4.1 It is submitted by learned advocate Mr. Qureshi that as per the allegations made in the FIR as well as the charge-sheet, the period of the alleged offence is stated to be 01.01.2019 and the FIR came to be filed on 12.05.2022, which is belated after the period of 3 years and in that background, it is submitted to quash and set aside the FIR which is stated to be a misuse of the process of law. It is also submitted by learned advocate Mr. Qureshi that Uttar Pradesh Intermediate Education Act, Shiksha Vibhag, of the year 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2013, technical examination was conducted by the Higher Secondary Education, Delhi, which is equivalent with the examination conducted by the Board of High School and Intermediate Education, Allahabad. It is submitted by learned advocate Mr. Qureshi that as per the RTI information provided to the students, it is clearly mentioned that students who have passed the Board of Higher Secondary Education, Delhi, are eligible to take the admission for higher education in the colleges in Uttar Pradesh. In that background, it is submitted by learned advocate Mr. Qureshi that even if the affiliation of the Higher Secondary Board is not taken into consideration, the certificates issued cannot be said to be forged. Page 3 of 15 Uploaded by Vikramsinh Amarsinh(HCW0055) on Mon Mar 30 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 03 21:57:18 IST 2026
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5. Per contra, learned APP Ms. Shah has pointed out that during the course of investigation, the search was carried out of the office of the present applicant and various fake certificates were found, suggesting that the active involvement of the present applicant and the matter which is affecting to the society at large, is required to be tried by the learned Trial Court and in that background, the present application deserves to be rejected.
6. Considering the above submissions made by the learned advocates for the respective parties and on referring to the FIR as well as the charge-sheet which are filed against the 11 accused, wherein the present applicant was shown as accused No.1, as per brief stated in the last column of the charge-sheet as under :
"The details of offence is such like that under IPC Sections 406, 420, 465, 467, 468, 471, 120B and Information Technology Act Sections 66(D), 74, from among the accused mentioned in Column No. (1), Accused No. (2) and (5), as well as the accused mentioned in Column No. (2), Accused No. (1) and (2), hatched a pre-planned criminal conspiracy. They established a trust named "Board of Higher Secondary Education Delhi,"
registered at the Sub-Registrar-1, Delhi, under No. 3809, and joined it through periodic declarations. Further following the death of Ashokbhai Prabhudasbhai Lakhani, mentioned in Page 4 of 15 Uploaded by Vikramsinh Amarsinh(HCW0055) on Mon Mar 30 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 03 21:57:18 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/17488/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 16/03/2026 undefined Column No. 2, his son, Accused No. (3), took over the functioning of this board. Subsequently, this fraudulent board was sold to Accused No. (1) mentioned in Column No. (1). All the accused, without obtaining any recognition as per the standards of the State or Central Government, operated an illegal education board for Standards 10 and 12 under the name of the "Board of Higher Secondary Education Delhi"
trust. They illegally granted affiliations to educational schools and operated schools that lacked any approval or registration as per government rules. By doing so, they illegally collected fee amounts. Despite having no authority or recognition for Standards 10 and 12, they operated by providing affiliations to educational institutions as if it were a recognized board. Although the accused were aware that the government had declared the recognition of this board as fake, they continued the criminal conspiracy by running schools in various locations under the affiliation of the said board. They also verified certificates and marksheets of past and present schools running under the board's affiliation to gain financial benefits. The verification work was handled by Accused No. (4), mentioned in Column No. (1), from the office of board in Delhi. All the accused, in abetment with each other, forged various certificates for Standards 10 and 12, performed and procured signatures, and issued these certificates to students. They committed fraud, breach of trust, and cheating against the students, the government, and private departments. They created forged certificates intended to be used for obtaining government and private jobs, as well as for pursuing further studies and degrees. They used these forged documents Page 5 of 15 Uploaded by Vikramsinh Amarsinh(HCW0055) on Mon Mar 30 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 03 21:57:18 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/17488/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 16/03/2026 undefined (Certificates) as genuine, operated a website to promote the board, and posted result information and advertisements for this fraudulent board on the website www.BhSedelHiBoard.com to portray it as a recognized institution, thereby committing cheating and breach of trust and further, by conducted fraudulent examinations for Standards 10 and 12 and issuing forged certificates to the prosecution witnesses, they committed cheating and breach of trust. Upon the death of Accused No. (1) mentioned in Column No. (2), his son, Paras Ashokbhai Lakhani, took over the operations of the said board and sold it to Accused Ketan Harkantbhai Joshi for a sum of ₹7,14,000/-. Thus, all the accused, in abetment with each other, hatched a criminal conspiracy and committed the offence.
Further, the accused Pratapbhai Dehabhai Bhuva obtained an illegal Standard-10 certificate from this board and used it as genuine to secure a job in the S.T. Department and accused Dipesh Mansukhbhai Gohel obtained an illegal certificate of Standard-12 from this board and used it as genuine to secure admission for B.H.M.S. in a Homeopathic College. Accused Chitraben Jisanbhai Vaghela obtained an illegal certificate of Standard-12 from this board and used it as genuine to secure admission to a dental college and completed the B.D.S. course. Accused Smit Dhirajbhai Vasoya obtained an illegal certificate of Standard-10 from the said bogus Delhi Board and used it as genuine to study in Standards 11 and 12, subsequently passing the Standard-12 examination of the Gujarat Board. Accused Jay Mansukhbhai Bhagiya obtained illegal Standard-11 and 12 certificates and used Page 6 of 15 Uploaded by Vikramsinh Amarsinh(HCW0055) on Mon Mar 30 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 03 21:57:18 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/17488/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 16/03/2026 undefined them as genuine to secure admission for B.A. at Baba Saheb Ambedkar Open University, Rajkot. Accused Hasam Allarakhabhai Sandh obtained a bogus Standard-10 certificate from this board and used it as genuine to secure a job as a Traffic Pointsman in the Railway Department. Thus all the accused have committed the aforementioned offence."
` 6.1. During the course of the investigation, the following materials were found in the office of the present applicant, as per the Panchnama drawn in the presence of witnesses:
"(1) Verification Letter Year 2020 File which contains a student verification file on the letter pads of the Board of Higher Secondary Delhi, is seized for investigation purposes considering its value as Rs. 00/00.
(2) Verification File Year 2020 File Number 2, containing student verification files on the letter pads of various different boards, is seized for investigation purposes considering its value as Rs. 00/00.
(3) Student verification file on the letter pads of Board of Higher Secondary Delhi and other boards bearing title Verification Letter Year 2015, is seized for investigation purposes considering its value as Rs. 00/00. (4) Verification Year 2017 File Number 2, student verification file on the letter pad of the Board of Higher Secondary Delhi, is seized for investigation purposes considering its value as Rs. 00/00.
(5) Government Verification File Number 2 Year 2019, student verification file on the letter pad of the Board of Page 7 of 15 Uploaded by Vikramsinh Amarsinh(HCW0055) on Mon Mar 30 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 03 21:57:18 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/17488/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 16/03/2026 undefined Higher Secondary Delhi, is seized for investigation purposes considering its value as Rs. 00/00.
(6) Verification Year 2018 File Number 3, student verification file on the letter pad of the Board of Higher Secondary Delhi, is seized for investigation purposes considering its value as Rs. 00/00.
(7) File of letters received for verification, which contains various student-wise verification letters, it is seized for investigation purposes considering its value as Rs. 00/00. (8) File of Letters sent for verification in the Year 2022, which contains various student verification letters file, is seized for investigation purposes considering its value as Rs. 00/00. (9) File of Letters sent for verification in the Year 2022, which contains various student verification letters file, is seized for investigation purposes considering its value as Rs. 00/00. (10) File containing various student application forms of the Board of Higher Secondary Delhi is seized for investigation purposes considering its value as Rs. 00/00. (11) Government Verification File - correspondence file for various student verifications on the Board of Higher Secondary Delhi letter pad is seized for investigation purposes considering its value as Rs. 00/00.
(12) Two files of Avadh Education and Charitable Trust are seized for investigation purposes considering their value as Rs. 00/00.
(13) A file titled Bharat Sevak Samaj Chennai is seized for investigation purposes considering its value as Rs. 00/00. (14) The original marksheet of Prajapati Sanket Kishorkumar, Page 8 of 15 Uploaded by Vikramsinh Amarsinh(HCW0055) on Mon Mar 30 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 03 21:57:18 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/17488/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 16/03/2026 undefined Class 12 Science, Board of Higher Secondary Education Delhi, of Year 2010 bearing roll number 8005939, the value of which is considered as Rs. 00/00 and it is seized for investigation after obtaining signatures us panchas and you-the police. (15) The Board Certificate of Prajapati Sanket Kishorkumar of Class 12 Science, Board of Higher Secondary Education Delhi, containing the original marksheet with Roll Number 8005939, the value of which is considered as Rs. 00/00 and it is seized for investigation after obtaining signatures us panchas and you-the police.
(16) The Migration Certificate of Prajapati Sanket Kishorkumar of Class 12 Science, Board of Higher Secondary Education Delhi which contains the original marksheet with Roll Number 8005939, the value of it is considered as Rs. 00/00 and it is seized for investigation after obtaining signatures us panchas and you-the police.
(17) List of certificates issued to students by the Board of Higher Secondary Education Delhi, total two pages, the value of which is considered as Rs. 00/00 and it is seized for investigation after obtaining signatures us panchas and you-the police.
(18) Blank letter pads of the Board of Higher Secondary Education Delhi, total 85, which are seized for investigation purposes considering their value as Rs. 00/00. (19) The certificate issued to Mahadev Academy as Authorized Training Center of the Bharat Sevak Samaj, is seized for investigation purposes considering its value as Rs. 00/00. (20) Various rubber stamps as per the Annexure attached Page 9 of 15 Uploaded by Vikramsinh Amarsinh(HCW0055) on Mon Mar 30 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 03 21:57:18 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/17488/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 16/03/2026 undefined with the Panchnama, total 12, which are seized for investigation purposes considering their value as Rs. 00/00. (21) Approximately 700 answer sheets of the Board of Higher Secondary Education Delhi were found, out of which one answer sheet as a sample is seized for investigation purposes considering its value as Rs. 00/00.
(22) And one computer in which the CPU is of LG company and the monitor is of Samsung company, which was started by the accused by turning the power switch ON, and when you-the Police asked the accused to show the file containing the details of total admission given, the accused himself showed the file 'G M JOSHI SCIENCE SCHOOL- DHARI/TOTAL ADMISSION' in 'My Computer', E Drive, which is a Word file of 472 KB. Looking at the Hash value in the Hash Value Calculator, its Hash value was found 2dbcd1011c81cbf86d61bbca3de88367. When you-the police asked the accused to show the certificate of Pinal Ashwinbhai Savaliya in the computer, the accused himself opened the file 'E: / SCHOOL / G.M.JOSHI SCIENCE SCHOOL-
DHARI / ADMISSION-2019 / 12th / SCIENCE / SAVALIYA PINAL A' from the computer, wherein various Aadhaar cards, certificates and results and documents were found, wherein a total of 11 files were found, and upon checking their Hash values respectively, they are as follows.
Sr. Document Details Document Hash Value
No File Name
.
1 Aadhaar Card IMG- 8634af4f2cbf7dff6c67106c
20220128- fbbe6f59
WA0067
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NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.MA/17488/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 16/03/2026
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2 Aadhaar Card IMG- cfa42e772978efd4c89ad9a
20220128- 2f2bf9ab9
WA0068
3 H.S.C. Marksheet IMG- e2191095f608bd981a0a68
Year March 2019 20220128- dd8e500e44
WA0070
4 L.C. of Tapovan SAVALIYA 8f5d4218ce86eb6f525344d
Vidyalaya PINAL A 003ed4588
001
5 Affidavit SAVALIYA f330ca1907ded2acf7a9e8c
PINAL A dbf6167f7
002
6 Affidavit SAVALIYA 2a3a6a83290eb4efa34d85
PINAL A 1abf934124
003
7 Affidavit SAVALIYA 53f3689f84d51cb6d72fdcb
PINAL A 35a98cb45
004
8 Marksheet of SAVALIYA 17208b23d56735bf3256fc4
Board of Higher PINAL A 8417e56d1
Secondary 005
Education Delhi
9 Certificate of SAVALIYA 25fb6682b612341e6055d4
Board of Higher PINAL A 3d52d5fd70
Secondary 0060
Education Delhi
10 Migration SAVALIYA 7ed532c7d9a1509b178234
Certificate of PINAL A 4daa7366d1
Board of Higher 007
Secondary
Education Delhi
11 Marksheet of SAVALIYA fb83020f6eaae2eedd8fdae
Board of Higher PINAL A 37fb48c8a
Secondary
Education Delhi
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NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.MA/17488/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 16/03/2026
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6.2 It is settled law that once the Court finds that the FIR does
disclose prima facie commission of a cognizable offence, it should stay its hand and allow the trial or the investigation to unearth the crime in accordance with the procedure prescribed in the Code. At the stage of deciding whether criminal proceedings or the FIR is to be quashed at the threshold or not, allegations in the FIR or police report or complaint, including material collected during the investigation or inquiry, as the case may be, are to be taken at their face value so as to determine whether a prima facie case or investigation or proceedings against the accused, as the case may be, is made out or not. The correctness of the allegations is not to be tested at this stage. While exercising the power under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C., this Court is not required to conduct a mini-trial. At this stage, the nature of the accusation, allegations in the FIR and whether prima facie allegations disclose the commission of a cognizable offence, are to be considered.
6.3 In the instant case, prima facie material discussed above indicates the involvement of the applicant in forgery. The inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. is not to be Page 12 of 15 Uploaded by Vikramsinh Amarsinh(HCW0055) on Mon Mar 30 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 03 21:57:18 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/17488/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 16/03/2026 undefined exercised to quash the FIR or the charge-sheet. At this stage, the reference of the decision rendered by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal, reported in 1992 Supp (1) SCC 335., is required to be made, wherein the following criteria are laid down while exercising the power under Section 482. "In the backdrop of the interpretation of the various relevant provisions of the Code under Chapter XIV and of the principles of law enunciated by this Court in a series of decisions relating to the exercise of the extraordinary power under Article 226 or the inherent powers under Section 482 of the Code which we have extracted and reproduced above, we have given the following categories of cases by way of illustration wherein such power could be exercised either to prevent abuse of the process of any court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice, though it may not be possible to lay down any precise, clearly defined and sufficiently channelised and inflexible guidelines or rigid formulae and to give an exhaustive list of myriad kinds of cases wherein such power should be exercised.
(1) Where the allegations made in the first information report or the complaint, even if they are taken at their face value and accepted in their entirety do not prima facie constitute any offence or make out a case against the accused.
(2) Where the allegations in the first information report and other materials, if any, accompanying the FIR do not Page 13 of 15 Uploaded by Vikramsinh Amarsinh(HCW0055) on Mon Mar 30 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 03 21:57:18 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/17488/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 16/03/2026 undefined disclose a cognizable offence, justifying an investigation by police officers under Section 156(1) of the Code except under an order of a Magistrate within the purview of Section 155(2) of the Code.
(3) Where the uncontroverted allegations made in the FIR or complaint and the evidence collected in support of the same do not disclose the commission of any offence and make out a case against the accused.
(4) Where, the allegations in the FIR do not constitute a cognizable offence but constitute only a non-cognizable offence, no investigation is permitted by a police officer without an order of a Magistrate as contemplated under Section 155(2) of the Code.
(5) Where the allegations made in the FIR or complaint are so absurd and inherently improbable on the basis of which no prudent person can ever reach a just conclusion that there is sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused.
(6) Where there is an express legal bar engrafted in any of the provisions of the Code or the concerned Act (under which a criminal proceeding is instituted) to the institution and continuance of the proceedings and/or where there is a specific provision in the Code or the concerned Act, providing efficacious redress for the grievance of the aggrieved party.
(7) Where a criminal proceeding is manifestly attended with mala fide and/or where the proceeding is maliciously instituted with an ulterior motive for wreaking vengeance on the accused and with a view to spite him due to private Page 14 of 15 Uploaded by Vikramsinh Amarsinh(HCW0055) on Mon Mar 30 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 03 21:57:18 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/17488/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 16/03/2026 undefined and personal grudge."
6.4 Considering the factual background and involvement in the instant case, this Court does not find any merit in the case which calls for intervention while exercising the power under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C.
7. Resultantly, the present application stands dismissed. Notice is discharged.
(M. K. THAKKER,J) Vikramsinh Amarsinh Page 15 of 15 Uploaded by Vikramsinh Amarsinh(HCW0055) on Mon Mar 30 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 03 21:57:18 IST 2026