Gujarat High Court Grants Interim Relief to Morbi College Professor in Service Record Tampering Case
The Gujarat High Court has provided significant interim relief to Ashishkumar Gohil, a professor at Lukhdhirji Engineering College in Morbi, who is facing disciplinary action over allegations of tampering with his service record. In an oral order issued on February 4, a division bench comprising Justices Bhargav Karia and L S Pirzada directed that any decision taken by the state government in this matter must be subject to the final outcome of Gohil's petition. This ruling offers a temporary reprieve to the professor as the legal proceedings continue.
Background of the Case and Legal Proceedings
Ashishkumar Gohil, an alumnus of IIT Bombay and head of the production engineering department at the college, filed an appeal against a December 24, 2025 judgment by a single-judge bench of the high court. That earlier judgment had dismissed his application seeking to quash a chargesheet dated February 14, 2022, issued by the state government, along with all further proceedings, including a showcause notice from December 12, 2025. The chargesheet stems from allegations that Gohil tampered with his service book in 2020 when he requested permission to have it rebound due to its deteriorated condition.
According to Gohil's petition, filed through advocate Utkarsh Dave, he began his career in 1991 as an ad hoc lecturer in mechanical engineering at Shantilal Shah Engineering College in Bhavnagar. He was promoted by the Gujarat Public Service Commission (GPSC) to lecturer of production engineering in 1995 and later to assistant professor in 2006. After a transfer to Lukhdhirji Engineering College in Morbi as an associate professor, he returned to SS Engineering College in Bhavnagar in 2015. In 2016, he was promoted to professor of production engineering by the GPSC and continued working there until his transfer back to Morbi in May 2022.
Allegations and Missing Pages in Service Record
The controversy arose in 2020 when Gohil sought permission from the principal of SS College to have his service book rebound because it was in tatters. After the book was returned, a junior clerk reported that some pages were missing. These pages reportedly contained adverse remarks from confidential records for 2010 and 2011, notings about unauthorized absence for 54 days in 2008, and details of a penalty of censure from 2012. Following a preliminary inquiry and disciplinary proceedings, a chargesheet was issued against Gohil, and he received a showcause notice based on advice from the GPSC.
Gohil challenged the chargesheet in the high court last year, arguing that it was based on a preliminary inquiry not permitted under the Gujarat Civil Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1971. He also contended that the GPSC's advice was a non-speaking order, indicating a lack of proper consideration. In October 2025, the government sought the GPSC's advice on the disciplinary proceedings, and in December 2025, the GPSC agreed that a penalty of removal from service was appropriate, though without disqualifying him from future government service.
Court's Rationale and Future Hearing
The single-judge bench dismissed Gohil's petition in December 2025, stating that the chargesheet was not entirely based on the preliminary inquiry and that he had raised the issue too late. The court also ruled that the GPSC was not required to provide reasons for its decision, comparing it to procedures where a Disciplinary Authority does not need to justify agreement with an Inquiring Officer's findings.
In his appeal, advocate Utkarsh Dave emphasized that the missing pages related to old matters from 2008 to 2012, which had no adverse impact on Gohil's service after 12 years. Dave noted that Gohil was promoted to professor in 2016, after the alleged tampering incident in 2020, based on GPSC recommendations that considered all aspects, including adverse entries. He also argued that there was no evidence the pages were counted before and after the service book was handled, and with no motive for tampering, the case lacks substance.
The Gujarat High Court has scheduled the next hearing for February 24, where further arguments will be presented. This case highlights ongoing legal debates over procedural fairness in disciplinary actions within government services.
