Karnataka high court quashes FIR against Gopal Joshi in alleged Lok Sabha ticket fraud case

Karnataka high court quashes FIR against Gopal Joshi in alleged Lok Sabha ticket fraud case

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has quashed the FIR registered against Gopal Joshi, a relative of Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, in connection with an alleged cheating case linked to the promise of securing a ticket in the last Lok Sabha elections.

The case had been registered at the Basaveshwar Nagar Police Station in Bengaluru based on a complaint alleging that ₹2 crore was collected by promising a BJP ticket to contest the parliamentary elections.

The order was passed by a single-judge bench of Justice M. Nagaprasanna while hearing petitions filed by Gopal Joshi and Ajay Joshi of Hubballi along with Vijaya Lakshmi S.G. Joshi from Bengaluru. The petitioners had approached the court seeking quashing of the FIR registered against them.

During the hearing, counsel for the petitioners argued that the allegations essentially relate to a financial dispute rather than a criminal offence. The lawyer submitted that the complainant had alleged that ₹25 lakh was initially paid through a cheque for the purpose of securing a Lok Sabha ticket during the election period.

“The alleged transaction took place before the elections. If the complainant realised that the ticket was not being secured, a complaint could have been filed immediately. However, the complaint was filed nearly six months later,” the counsel argued before the court.

The defence further stated that the accused had repeatedly expressed willingness to return the money, suggesting that the matter was essentially a monetary dispute rather than a criminal conspiracy.

The petitioners also challenged the inclusion of provisions under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 in the FIR. According to the defence, the alleged incident had taken place within a private setting and not in a public place, which they argued does not fall under Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the Act.

Earlier during the proceedings, the petitioners’ counsel had also informed the court that the accused were prepared to repay the amount. It was stated that ₹25 lakh had been paid through a cheque in March 2024, while an additional ₹1.75 lakh was allegedly taken as a hand loan, with the third accused Ajay Joshi acting as a guarantor.

However, the government counsel opposed the plea and submitted investigation records before the court. The prosecution argued that the accused had not fulfilled the assurances given to the complainant and that evidence collected during the investigation indicated the involvement of multiple persons.

“The investigation has revealed certain audio and video evidence. It also indicates that the office of the Union Minister was used in connection with the alleged offence,” the government counsel told the court.

After hearing both sides, the High Court proceeded to quash the FIR. The detailed order of the judgment is yet to be made available.