TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (9) TMI 826
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....sk Force (UPSTF) was constituted for the investigation, which raided certain premises and arrested six accused involved in leakage of examination papers. Pursuant to the investigation, a charge-sheet was filed by the UPSTF on 06.06.2024 wherein the following features of the allegations are narrated: (a) During a search operation, authorities recovered eight mobile phones and photocopies of the UP Police Recruitment Examination question paper and answer key for the exam scheduled on the second shift of February 18, 2024. Six individuals were arrested: Deepu alias Deepak, Bittu, Praveen, Rohit alias Lalit. Naveen Kumar, and Sahil, all from Meerut. (b) The accused, Monu, had forwarded the leaked question paper and answer key through WhatsApp to Sahil on 17.02.2024, who then forwarded it to Naveen Kumar. Naveen further shared it with Bittu, who forwarded it to Praveen, and Praveen passed it on to one Dabbu. (c) Additionally, Vikram Dahiya and Monu Sharma were requested by Bittu to provide the leaked question paper and answer key, scheduled for the second shift on 18.02.2024, to Pravesh Pradhan, Gulzar, Asif, and Gaurav on 17.02.2024. Subsequently, Pravesh Pra....
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...., Ravi Atri met Ankit Mishra from Pratapgarh, who mentioned his involvement in recruiting personnel for logistics companies such as Blue Dart, TCI, and Gati. Knowing that examination papers for competitive exams were often transported through these logistics companies, Ravi Atri befriended Ankit Mishra and asked him to notify him if any exam papers were to be transported through his company. Ankit Mishra later introduced Ravi Atri to Abhishek Kumar Shukla from TCI, who, in turn, brought in his former colleagues Shivam Giri and Rohit Pandey to devise a plan for leaking the UPPCRE-23 exam papers. (i) On February 1, 2024, Shivam Giri informed Abhishek Shukla that the UPPCRE-23 question papers had arrived at the company's warehouse and were scheduled for distribution in Uttar Pradesh by February 12, 2024. Shivam Giri took photos of the sealed boxes containing the exam papers and sent them to Abhishek Shukla, who forwarded them to Ravi Atri. Ravi Atri then shared these photos with Rajeev Nayan Mishra, a contact he had met through Dr. Sharad from Lucknow. Ravi Atri also contacted Dr. Shubham Mandal, an expert in opening sealed boxes and a known associate from the paper solve....
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....ar from Satish Dhankad for Rs. 18-20 lakh, with Guniya paying Satish some cash upfront. On February 15, 2024, Vikram Pahal, Anurag, Daud, Guniya, and Mahendra Sharma brought around 400 candidates to the resort. However, as the paper did not arrive that day, the group stayed overnight. That night, Vikram Pahal received a call from Ravi Atri and Rajeev Nayan Mishra, directing him to go to Rohtak Road, Delhi Border, to collect the question paper and answer key for the UP Police Recruitment Exam from Rajan, a resident of Bihar. On the morning of February 16, Anurag and Daud drove to Rohtak Road, collected the papers from Rajan, and returned to Nature Valley Resort At the resort, the group taught approximately 800 candidates on the leaked questions and answers. Mahendra Sharma used his mobile phone to communicate with Ravi Atri, Rajeev Nayan Mishra, and others. Vikram Pahal, along with his associates Vikram Dahiya, Vijay (alias Neetu), Dheeraj (alias Goldy), Monu Sharma (alias Manish), Ajit Chauhan, and Gaurav Chaudhary (alias Gaurav Kumar), also brought candidates to the resort for coaching on the leaked exam content. (o) Ravi Atri and Rajeev Nayan Mishra provided the leaked q....
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....velope. 6. In the light of the aforesaid and the fact that the appellant sent a letter to the Deputy Director, Directorate of Enforcement on 09.11.2024 for non-supply of the RUDs, the impugned order deserves to be set-aside. 7. Ld. Counsel for the appellant further referred to the email dated 11.11.2024 to show service of the provisional attachment order ("PAO") with reference of submission of complaint dated 11.09.2025. The aforesaid cannot be taken to be an endorsement of the supply of the copy of RUDs and OC. 8. Ld. Counsel for the appellant further made a reference to email dated 04.12.2024 to indicate that after release on bail, the appellant made a request for inspection of documents which was permitted by the Adjudicating Authority on 06.12.2024 and thereupon prayer was made to defer the proceedings enabling the appellant to get the copies of the documents and thereupon to contest the show-cause notice. The appellant was not allowed further time despite a specific request being made vide application dated 09.01.2025 received by the respondent on 10.01.2025. A prayer to defer the proceedings was also refused on the ground that an appropriate order has to be passed by....
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....he paper for distribution. However, I am not required to go deep in the allegations because it has not been defended by the appellant while pressing the appeal. Therefore, presumption would remain that no defence exists with the appellant regarding his involvement in commission of offences. 13. Ld. Counsel for the appellant raised only one issue while pressing the appeal. It was alleged that the RUDs were not supplied to him and therefore the impugned order passed by the Adjudicating Authority is in violation of the principles of natural justice and otherwise in contravention of the provisions of the Act of 2002. 14. To analyze the issue, I have gone through the fact and find that the RUDs were served to the appellant while he was in custody. It was served to him by the police personnel in the month of September, 2024. However, the appellant wrote a letter on 09.11.2024 alleging that no envelope containing RUDs was served to him, rather, signatures were obtained by the police constable without service of the documents and even a copy of the notice was not supplied to him. 15. Ld. Counsel for the appellant pressed upon the letter dated 09.11.2024 to draw conclusion regardin....
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....ppellant has made effort to mislead this Tribunal to project the violation of principles of natural justice. 20. Ld. Counsel for the appellant referred to the application for inspection of the document. It was permitted by the Registrar of Adjudicating Authority and thereby fair opportunity of hearing was given to him. After inspection of the document, the appellant prayed for the copy of the RUDs, as referred by Ld. Counsel for the appellant, leaving other documents referred in the application sent to the Adjudicating Authority. It was to show that after inspection of the document, the appellant again prayed for supply of RUD Volume I and II, though the RUDs' were served to the appellant while he was in jail. Those documents and show cause notice were sent in the envelope duly endorsed by the appellant by putting his signature(s). Thus, the subsequent demand of RUDs was to gain time so that the proceedings may not be completed within a period of 180 days and accordingly PAO may lapse. 21. Ld. Counsel for the respondent referred to the efforts made by the respondent to serve the copy of the RUDs and notice even prior to delivery in jail. A special messenger was sent to delive....