An FIR in the matter was registered under the section 22 of NDPS Act and 52 of Prisons Act at STF police station, Mohali. (Representational/File)A 72-year-old woman was arrested by Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) police on Saturday for allegedly practicing in the family court at Bandra without having a law degree or a Sanad (license) card required to practice as a lawyer for at least seven years.
The accused is identified as Rebecca Mordecai alias Kashinath Sohoni, a resident of Pali Hill. An FIR was registered against her on June 9 this year by the BKC police station for cheating, forgery and impersonation.
As per the FIR, she has appeared as a lawyer in a family court at least on three occasions in 2015 and twice in 2021. While seeking her police custody from Bandra magistrate court on Sunday, an officer from BKC police station told the magistrate, “She appeared as a lawyer in different courts and cheated people as well as the judiciary. She was using a Sanad card which was in the name of some other person. She did not submit her law degree or Sanad card and did not cooperate with the police probe. The Sessions court has rejected her anticipatory bail plea.”
The complainant, Akbar Khan, 44, a lawyer, told The Indian Express, “Last year in December, I learnt that this person was appearing in family court and filing Vakalatnama without having a license or even a degree. I was a rickshaw driver for ten years and simultaneously I finished my law and am a practicing lawyer. I felt it’s highly unfair that someone is practicing law without being a lawyer. So in February this year I filed a written complaint before the police, bar council as well as family court. The secretary from the bar council of Maharashtra & Goa has also replied in a letter to the BKC police station informing them that she is not enrolled with them as an advocate.”
The woman has been remanded to police custody by a magistrate court on Sunday till September 20 for further probe. The police said they want to find out whose Sanad number she was using, who helped her in forgery, and they need to get evidence on other courts where she has filed Vakalatnama.