Bombay high court judge's order 'forged', probe directed

MUMBAI: Justice Gautam Patel of Bombay high court directed the court registry to immediately take steps including initiating criminal prosecution against unknown persons after observing as “forged’’ an order purported to be passed by him on a Sunday last December.
“There is no manner of doubt that the entire document is not only a forgery but a clumsy one,’’ said Justice Gautam Patel on February 15 after two lawyers filed a complaint that they had come across an order they believed, after a search on the HC website, was forged.
The HC observed that it was “disturbing’’ that the “purpose of forgery’’ was evidently to “create rights in favour of the so-called petitioner…and seeks to make him the heir of two term deposits worth Rs 51 lakh’’.
Justice Patel in his order now has said he would require the registrar to initiate criminal proceedings under section 195 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), if necessary against person(s) unknown.
The judge has also directed the HC registrar (legal and research) to immediately “summon before himself’’ two persons for an explanation about the document and to steps on the technical side regarding “water mark and digital signature.’’
The court also said, “There is one other disturbing aspect that requires internal investigation.’’ “It may be possible that the entire document was fabricated using some courtroom terminal. This needs to be investigated,’’ said Justice Patel, adding, “I may note that my own staff has brought this to the attention of the Registry several times in the past.’’
As a precautionary measure, the HC said the bank be requested to “freeze’’ any encashment without specific and proper court order.
The lawyers filed a handwritten complaint on Saturday about a document purporting to be an order that Justice Patel passed, dated December 1, 2019, a Sunday. The apparent beneficiary of the ‘order’ died just 15 days ago and the ‘order’ was brought to their notice by his grand nephew said advocates UV Mohite and Hetal Pandya in their complaint.
Seeing the urgency, the Judge passed an order requesting the HC registrar to “obtain necessary administrative directions from the Chief Justice for further follow-up.’’
“The entire document is a forgery. There is no such order,’’ said Justice Patel citing “several reasons”. The most glaring being a five digit number of a petition under a proceeding called ‘commercial succession petition’ when there is no such proceeding, the Judge observed. The ‘order’ purported to be passed in the HC’s ‘revenue and property division’ when no such division exists. “There is no testamentary petition (a petition relating to the will for transfer of estate to beneficiaries after death of person) with a five-digit lodging number.
Besides, its “entire formatting’’ including the fonts, spacing is not in the manner that he makes his orders said Justice Patel. “There is no footer of date and page number’’ as is his “invariable practice.’’
“The offending document’’ the court observed uses a file name of an order that the judge recently passed after correction and was uploaded on December 23, 2019. “It necessarily follows that though dated December 1…it could have been generated or fabricated only after December 23, 2019,’’ the court further observed.