The Bombay high court has granted bail to a 93-year-old man who posed as an advocate and duped his client of Rs 22 lakh.
bccl
The court has directed that the trial be conducted on a day-to-day basis within three months "keeping in mind" the ages of the nonagenarian and the complainant who is in his seventies.
Justice Revati Mohite-Dere on May 4 passed the order on a plea of Balasaheb Choudhary, lodged in Nashik Central Prison, urging the court for bail saying he is "on deathbed" and on "continuous medication".
The complainant, Rameshchandra Bafna, knew Choudhary when the latter worked with the income-tax department. On learning that Choudhary is a "leading legal practitioner", he engaged his services as a lawyer in two cases. Between 2009-2014, Choudhary was paid over Rs 22 lakh.
BCCL
When he demanded more money, Bafna found that he does not possess a 'sanad' (licence to practise). The Sarkarwada police filed an FIR against Choudhary on January 15, 2016, under Indian Penal Code sections for cheating, breach of trust and causing wrongful loss.
After the chargesheet was filed, Choudhary was arrested on February 6. The Nashik sessions court in March rejected his bail plea.
afp/representational image
His application said he is suffering from medical problems, including sciatica and serious hypertension with anxiety neurosis. "The applicant states that from the aforesaid medical history it is apparently clear that he is on his deathbed and therefore considering the age factor, the applicant needs to be immediately released on bail,'' it added.
His advocate Himanshu Kode said without prejudice to his rights and contentions, Choudhary will deposit Rs 10 lakh with the court. The prosecutor and Bafna disputed Choudhary's age saying he is 83 years old and not 93.
Bafna informed that the Bar Council has also observed that Choudhary was not enrolled as an advocate and hence was not competent to practice.