Bombay High Court Quashes Fake RT-PCR Case Against Three Mumbai Residents

The Bombay High Court has quashed a criminal case registered against three Mumbai housing society residents who were booked nearly five years ago for allegedly fabricating negative RT-PCR reports to bypass Covid-19 entry protocols during the lockdown.

A single-judge bench of Justice Milind Jadhav quashed the FIR registered in 2021 for offences including cheating and forgery. The court observed that the extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic had left many people on the brink of losing their sanity and held that the three individuals would get the benefit of doubt in view of the exigency involved.

While quashing the case, the bench noted that an act of crime remains an act of crime and ordered each of the three individuals to pay a cost of ₹10,000.

The entire ₹30,000 collected has been directed to be paid to A K Munshi Yojana’s J T Sheth Mandbuddhi Vikas Kendra, a Mumbai special school that provides education, early intervention, and vocal training to children and young adults with special needs.

The criminal case originated during the pandemic lockdown after security staff and the chairman of the Mumbai housing society noticed discrepancies in RT-PCR test certificates submitted by the trio to gain entry. A verification process raised suspicions that the medical documents had been tampered with, prompting a formal complaint.

A police investigation later revealed that one of the accused had allegedly used a personal laptop and Adobe Illustrator software to digitally create fake negative RT-PCR test certificates, which were purportedly issued by Metropolis Laboratory.

The case remained pending for nearly five years before reaching the high court. In the intervening period, the housing society passed a formal resolution stating that no actual harm or illness had been caused to its residents. The society also took into account the young age and future prospects of the three accused individuals, ultimately providing a no-objection certificate to quash the criminal proceedings against them.