Gujarat HC Quashes Retrospective Application Of 2023 Examination Act

The Gujarat High Court upheld the fundamental protection against ex post facto laws and clarified that the penal provisions of the Gujarat Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2023, cannot be applied to offences allegedly committed years before the Act came into force. Justice Vimal K. Vyas, while exercising inherent powers under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, emphasized that criminal statutes are presumed to operate prospectively unless the legislature explicitly provides otherwise.

The Principle of Lex Prospicit Non Respicit

The High Court observed that the application of a 2023 penal statute to an incident from 2017 was legally untenable and violative of constitutional safeguards. The Court, in its reasoning, observed: "The law is as per the principle lex prospicit non respicit : law looks forward not backward. Under Indian Law, an accused person is to be arrested, tried and punished only under the laws that were in force on the date of the alleged offence. This principle is a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 20(1) of the Constitution of India known as the protection against ex post facto laws. An act cannot be considered as crime if it was not illegal at the time of the offence."

Retrospective Application of Penal Laws Prohibited

Referring to the General Clauses Act, the Court noted that statutes are presumed to be prospective. Since the Gujarat Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2023 came into force on March 3, 2023, it could not be invoked for an examination conducted in 2017. The Court has following directions:

"The First Information Report bearing CR.No.11198068230274 of 2023 registered on 14.04.2023 with the Bharatnagar Police Station, District Bhavnagar, is quashed qua the present applicant only for the offences punishable under 12(1), 12(3) and 12(4) of the Gujarat Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2023. Rule made absolute to the aforesaid extent."

Background:

The case arose from an FIR registered in April 2023 regarding an alleged incident from January 2012, involving the use of a dummy candidate for a Junior Clerk examination held in 2017. The applicant, who was subsequently added as accused no. 11 in the charge-sheet, challenged the inclusion of Sections 12(1), 12(3), and 12(4) of the Gujarat Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2023. The applicant's counsel, relying on Assistant Excise Commissioner, Kottayam and Others vs. Esthappan Cherian and Another ( "2021 (10) SCC 210": 2021 CaseBase(SC) 1255), argued that the 2023 Act did not exist when the alleged act occurred. It was further pointed out that a Coordinate Bench had already discharged co-accused in Revision Application No. 908 of 2026 on similar grounds. The Court agreed, noting that while the IPC and IT Act charges remained unchallenged, the specific charges under the 2023 Examination Act were bad in law and violative of Article 20 of the Constitution of India.

Case Details:
Case No.: R/CR.MA/1868/2026
NeutralCitation: 2026:GUJHC:33043
Case Title: MAHESHBHAI RAMJIBHAI CHAUHAN Versus STATE OF GUJARAT & ANR.
Appearances:
For the Petitioner(s): MR RATHIN P RAVAL(5013)
For the Respondent(s): MR TIRTHRAJ PANDYA, LD. ADDITIONAL PUBLIC PROSECUTOR

Source: 2026 CaseBase(GUJ) 256