The City Civil Court in Ahmedabad recently ordered its registrar to file an FIR against a man who allegedly posed as an arbitrator-judge and set up a false tribunal to obtain a land owned by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).
The order was passed on February 6 by judge J L Chovatiya. It said that the man, identified as Morris Samuel Christian, allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy to obtain land owned by the AMC at revenue survey number 117 at Shahwadi in the Daskroi taluka.
Christian’s tribunal was reportedly replete with “staff and lawyers”.
“They had a claim statement application drawn up, had it presented before himself, and passed a fraud award-order in the name of the petitioner in spite of the fact that this land has been owned by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation for several years. This same award-order was presented as genuine in this court,” stated the order.
It further stated, “Morris Samuel Christian then made arguments in continuity of his fraudulent activity, and carried out an organised crime with his associates.”
The court ordered the registrar to file an FIR against Christian and his associates under relevant sections of the law.
Meanwhile, the court dismissed the “application made” before it by petitioner Vincent L Carpenter to enforce the fraudulent order passed by Christian. The court also imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on Carpenter, ordering that he deposit the amount at the Legal Services Authority of the court within 30 days from the date of the order.