After fake government offices, toll plaza and hospitals, and fake officers, a fake court has been busted in Gujarat.
Credit: DH photo
After fake government offices, toll plaza and hospitals, and fake officers, a fake court has been busted in Gujarat.
The Ahmedabad police on Monday registered an FIR against a man for running a fake arbitration tribunal and passing several orders of arbitration between 2019 and 2024.
The police have arrested Morris Samuel Christian, 37, a resident of Gandhinagar, for criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery, providing false information to government servants, among other charges. The FIR was registered at Karanj police station in Ahmedabad on the basis of a written complaint filed by Hardik Desai, a civil judge, currently the registrar of Civil Court, Ahmedabad. He has stated in the complaint that he filed the complaint on instruction of J L Chovatia, judge city civil and sessions court, Ahmedabad.
The fraud was unearthed during the proceeding of a civil application in the city civil court filed by one Babjuji Thakor claiming right over a parcel of government land in Paldi area. The civil case had been filed against the collector, Ahmedabad. Thakor had produced the claim certificate awarded to him fraudulently by Morris under Arbitration and conciliation Act, 1996.
The FIR states that he acted as an arbitrator and passed the claim award to Thakor as the rightful owner of the parcel of the land back in 2019.
According to a note issued by the local police, "Morris claimed himself as an arbitrator, gave false claim statements for his clients and created the entire arbitration proceeding" in the fake court he had set up in Gandhinagar. Several photos of his "fake court" showed Morris sitting like a judge in the courtroom along with paraphernalia giving the impression of a real courtroom.
"He created an environment of a court by keeping staff, advocates and himself presided over as a judge," the FIR stated while adding that "he himself filed cases, passed orders and tried to make applicants owners of land worth in crores." Police sources said that they are investigating at least a dozen false claims Morris awarded to his clients.
Last year, six fake government offices had been busted after it swindled over government funds running in several crores. Similarly, five persons were booked for running a fake toll booth and "extorting" money from commuters in Morbi district.