CBI files FIR against eight lawyers in fake vakalatnama case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has named eight lawyers as accused in its first information report (FIR) lodged pursuant to the Supreme Court's directions in connection with a fake vakalatnama case. [Bhagwan Singh vs State of Uttar Pradesh and Another]..The FIR states that the case is one suspected to involve offences of false personation, false claims in court, forgery, and cheating (among other offences)..The development comes pursuant to a judgment delivered by a Bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma where it had ordered the CBI to carry out an inquiry into a case where a litigant denied filing a special leave petition (SLP) before the top court and had claimed that he never hired any of the lawyers before the Court to represent him.The Bench recently also made it clear that lawyers engaging in such fraudulent practices will face strict action..Over a month after the apex court issued notice to the State of Uttar Pradesh in the SLP in question, the petitioner, Bhagwan Singh wrote a letter to the Supreme Court Registry claiming that he had not filed any such case.The matter led to the Bench issuing strict directions to advocates-on-record (AoRs), who now must mark the appearance of only those lawyers who are authorised to appear and argue that case on a particular day.If there is any change in the name of the arguing advocate, it shall be the duty of the concerned AoR to inform the concerned court master in advance or at the time of the hearing, the Court added..Supreme Court rejects plea by SCBA, SCAORA against CBI probe into fake SLP.In the FIR filed after the CBI's preliminary inquiry, the central agency has recorded that it appears that Bhagwan Singh never met any of the lawyers who claimed to represent him before the court.The FIR accused ten persons, including eight lawyers, of having entered into a criminal conspiracy to file the SLP before the Supreme Court as well as miscellaneous applications before the Allahabad High Court..[Read FIR]