Can't Brush Aside Allegation: Rajasthan High Court Upholds FIR Against Forest Officer Accused Of Using Dummy Candidate In Recruitment Exam
Refusing to quash an FIR against a forest officer accused of using a dummy candidate in the recruitment exam, the Rajasthan High Court held that offences pertaining to manipulation of a public examination process could not be lightly brushed aside at the threshold.
The bench of Justice Farjand Ali was hearing a quashing petition in which the allegations against a serving Forest Guard was that a dummy candidate had appeared in her place in the relevant examination, and that led to her unlawful selection at the post.
"The allegations pertain to manipulation of a public examination process conducted by a constitutional recruitment body, which strikes at the very foundation of transparency, fairness and institutional integrity governing public employment. Offences of such nature cannot be lightly brushed aside at the threshold, particularly when the investigation is being conducted by a specialized agency and material collected during enquiry prima facie discloses commission of cognizable offences. The defence sought to be projected by the petitioner, namely that the alleged dummy candidate was intended to appear for her sister and not for the petitioner herself, constitutes a matter of factual adjudication requiring appreciation of evidence, which cannot appropriately be undertaken by this Court while exercising jurisdiction under Section 528 BNSS. At this stage, this Court is only required to ascertain whether the allegations and material collected during investigation disclose commission of cognizable offences warranting continuation of investigation".
It was alleged by the State that the photos and signatures uploaded by the petitioner in the online application form did not match with the same appearing on the admit card and examination documents.
Further it was contended that there was an existing case pending against the petitioner wherein similar allegations were levelled against her in relation to the REET Examination 2021. This information was not revealed by the petitioner to the concerned authorities while securing the present post.
On the contrary, it was argued by the petitioner that the alleged dummy candidate in the Forest Guard Recruitment Examination 2020 had intended to appear on behalf of her sister and not herself. Furthe, in relation to concealment of the pending case, it was submitted that the form required to give information only on past convictions and not pending cases.
After hearing the contentions, the Court highlighted that the allegations upon the petitioner were not founded on bald or omnibus assertions. Rather, those were based on materials collected by the investigating agency.
Rejecting the defence put forth by the petitioner, the Court stated that while exercising jurisdiction under Section 528, BNSS, it could not appreciate the evidence.
At this stage, the Court was only required to ascertain whether the allegations and material collected during the investigation disclosed any commission of cognizable offences, warranting continuation of investigation.
Accordingly, the petition was dismissed.
Title: Pramila v State of Rajasthan
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Raj) 223