The Bar Council of India has struck off a Delhi advocate after confirming he enrolled using forged documents. The BCI has also uncovered suspected collusion involving touts, insiders and long-serving BCD staff.
New Delhi: The Bar Council of India (BCI) has taken strict action against a Delhi-based lawyer who managed to get himself enrolled using a fake law degree. The Council has ordered that the advocate, J Vasanthan, be removed from the list of practising lawyers immediately.
His enrolment has also been declared completely invalid.
This matter came to light after the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) sent the case to the BCI. Bundelkhand University in Jhansi confirmed that the LL.B. degree and mark sheets submitted by Vasanthan were fake.
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When he first received a show-cause notice, he did not reply. Later, in a written response, he admitted that he had used forged documents and got enrolled with the help of touts and intermediaries.
He also said that some private individuals and even a staff member of the Bar Council of Delhi had helped him in exchange for money.
While examining the case, the BCI sub-committee found that this was not just a matter of a single fake degree.
It pointed out that this was an “exceptional case” which suggested deep collusion. According to the committee, there was material to show that fake documents were being created from inside the Bar Council of Delhi itself.
The inquiry indicated involvement of a broker, advocate Arbind Panchal, and a long-serving BCD staff member named Jagdish, who continued working even after his retirement age.
After reviewing these findings, the BCI ordered the Bar Council of Delhi to strike off Vasanthan’s name from the roll, treat his registration as void from the beginning, and issue a public notice informing everyone about this action.
The BCI also expressed serious worry that this may be part of a larger organised network involved in creating fake educational documents and helping people get illegally enrolled as lawyers.
The Council stated that similar cases “cannot be ruled out”, especially because the staff member involved had worked in the Bar Council of Delhi for more than twenty years.
Following this, the BCD’s special committee removed Jagdish from his job. The Council clarified that this removal does not stop further action—civil, criminal or disciplinary—against him if required.
The BCI also directed the Bar Council of Delhi to carry out a full investigation into all doubtful enrolments, especially those linked to Jagdish, Panchal, or any other insider.
Additionally, the BCI asked the BCD to send notices to the two advocates who had issued the moral character certificate for Vasanthan.
Their role has to be checked properly, and appropriate steps must be taken if they are found to have helped in any way in the enrolment based on forged documents.
The BCI reminded all State Bar Councils that it has a statutory duty under the Advocates Act to protect the purity of the enrolment process. It stressed that keeping enrolment clean and trustworthy is essential for maintaining high professional standards.
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The Council made it clear that any attempt to pollute the State rolls through fraud or collusion amounts to serious professional misconduct and will be dealt with
“sternly and without any leniency.”
It also emphasised that the enrolment process is the foundation of the legal profession, and any weakening of this system will not be tolerated.
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