Forgery case: CBI asks Bar to cancel HC lawyer’s licence

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has asked the Bar Council of India to cancel the practising licence of a Punjab and Haryana high court advocate for “gross professional misconduct”.

Advocate Raj Kumar Bhatia was booked along with another Chandigarh resident, Jatinder Birgi, in a cheating and forgery case. The court of chief judicial magistrate framed charges against them two days back.

The CBI in a letter to the council secretary, with a copy to the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana chairman, has alleged Bhatia committed gross professional misconduct in violation of the Advocates Act, 1961. The bureau further urged the Bar Council of India (BCI) to take necessary action for cancellation of the advocate’s registration according to the procedure.

Under Section 49 (1) of the Act, the BCI can constitute a disciplinary committee to hear the case of professional misconduct against a lawyer. If the licence is revoked, the lawyer can’t practice in any court of law.

However, Bhatia alleged he was being implicated falsely at the behest of some lawyers. Calling the CBI inquiry biased, he said he has filed a revision petition against the CJM’s order in the HC.

Case concerns Sec-8 property

The CBI had booked Bhatia and Birgi on the directions of the Supreme Court in November 2015. They were accused of forging a rent agreement to acquire House Number 1,149 in Sector 8, Chandigarh. The 500 square yards property belonged to GD Vaid, who was a superintendent in the office of Punjab deputy inspector general of police. He died in July 2014 and had named his daughter Meenu Vaid the property owner.

In November 2014, Meenu met with an accident and was bedridden when Birgi and Bhatia came in contact with her and allegedly prepared a forged rent agreement and agreement to sale in Birgi’s favour using Meenu’s forged signatures, the CBI had stated in the chargesheet filed in July 2016.

The duo filed a complaint the day Meenu expired. When the case reached the apex court after being dismissed by lower courts, a CBI probe was ordered.

The duo was charged for with Sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 417 (punishment for cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).