The Supreme Court stayed proceedings against Lakshya Sen and others over alleged birth certificate forgery to compete in junior badminton. A response from the Karnataka government is awaited by April 2025.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed proceedings in an FIR against former world junior number 1 badminton player Lakshya Sen and others over allegations of forging birth certificates to compete in junior badminton tournaments.
A Bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K Vinod Chandran also issued a notice to the Karnataka government and complainant MG Nagaraj, seeking their response.
The case began when Nagaraj filed a private complaint alleging that the birth certificates of Lakshya Sen and his brother, Chirag Sen, were fraudulently altered with the help of their parents and coach, an employee of the Karnataka Badminton Association.
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According to the complaint, their ages were reduced by around two and a half years, enabling them to compete in underage tournaments and receive government benefits.
Based on this, the police registered an FIR under Sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery), and 471 (using forged documents as genuine) of the IPC.
In 2022, the Sen brothers, their parents, and their coach approached the Karnataka High Court to quash the criminal proceedings, but on February 19, 2024, the High Court dismissed their plea and allowed the investigation to continue.
Justice MG Uma of the High Court ruled that prima facie evidence suggested the commission of offences, and there was no justification to stop the probe.
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Aggrieved, the appellants moved the Supreme Court, which has now put the investigation on hold until further orders.
The case will be heard next on April 16, 2025.
Senior Advocate CA Sundaram, along with Advocates Rohini Musa, Nipun Katyal, and Varun Joshi, represented the appellants. The petition was filed through Advocate on Record Badri Vishal.
Chirag Sen & Anr.v. State of Karnataka & Anr.
Read the Judgement here:
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