Police book lawyer after HC flags forged documents in writ petitions

The high court, presided over by justice Mini Pushkarna, was hearing a writ petition seeking directions to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to take action against alleged an illegal construction on a property in Zakir Nagar in Jamia Nagar, when it noticed serious irregularities in the filing.

Delhi Police have registered a case against an advocate for allegedly filing multiple writ petitions using forged property documents, after the Delhi high court flagged the matter and ordered a police probe.

The probe was revelatory, police said (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The high court, presided over by justice Mini Pushkarna, was hearing a writ petition seeking directions to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to take action against alleged an illegal construction on a property in Zakir Nagar in Jamia Nagar, when it noticed serious irregularities in the filing.

During the proceedings, the court found that the petition had not been filed by the named petitioner, Aditi Shivcharan Rathod, and had instead been instituted without her authorisation using forged and fabricated property documents.

The court noted that several writ petitions had been filed before it in the names of different petitioners — Aditi Shivcharan Rathod, Seema, Jyoti and Pushpa Pandey — through the same counsel, using identical sets of “forged and fabricated documents such as GPA, agreements to sell, affidavits, etc.”

All the petitions raised similar pleas, claiming ownership of properties and alleging illegal construction. In view of the pattern, the court had earlier directed the deputy commissioner of police (southeast) to conduct an investigation into the matter.

“The probe was revelatory,” police said.

In a report submitted to the court in December, DCP Dr Hemant Tiwari said Rathod had never purchased any property in Delhi. During her examination, she told investigators that she had never filed any writ petition in the high court, that her Aadhaar card had been misused, and that the property documents annexed with the petition , including the purported signatures, were forged.

Similarly, Seema Rani told police that her Aadhaar details and photograph had been misused. “The Aadhaar number and address used in the court documents were incorrect,” the report stated, adding that she had never owned any property in Delhi or filed any petition. “Her usual signature is in English, while the documents bore signatures in Hindi,” the report said, indicating impersonation.

Police said they were unable to trace six individuals shown as executors and witnesses in the chain of property documents. “The documents appeared to have been manufactured solely for the purpose of filing court cases,” an officer aware of the investigation said.

Investigators also found that the advocate could not be located at the Lajpat Nagar address mentioned in the petitions and was instead traced to an office in Defence Colony. The advocate told police that the matters had been referred to her by an advocate, but the phone number shared was found to be non-existent, and police said they have so far found no trace of such a person.

The police report also flagged a broader pattern in areas such as Jamia Nagar and Shaheen Bagh, where “certain individuals were filing frivolous complaints and PILs using forged documents, using the threat of court proceedings and municipal action as a tool to extort money from builders and the public, and then withdrawing or abandoning cases after extracting money.”

In an order dated December 11, the court expressed serious concern over the role of the advocates involved and directed police to continue the investigation.

DCP Tiwari said a case has been registered against the advocate. “During the inquiry, it was found that the advocate used fake documents to file petitions in the names of different people for the purpose of extortion. Further probe is underway,” he said.