Birth certificate forgery: Supreme Court stays Karnataka HC order allowing probe against Lakshya Sen & others

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the Karnataka High Court's order which refused to quash or stay a criminal investigation against badminton player Lakshya Sen, his family and coach Vimal Kumar on allegations of forging birth certificates.

A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah allowed the plea for the stay made by senior advocate C A Sundaram on behalf of petitioner Chirag Sen and another.

The counsel said the High Court dismissed the matter on merits when his associate sought accommodation.

On a brief submission, the court stayed the High Court's order and issued notice on the plea filed through advocate Rohini Musa.

The High Court, in its order on Tuesday, said there was sufficient evidence to warrant investigation into the matter.

It dismissed the petitions, noting that the petitioners' lawyers failed to present their arguments despite multiple opportunities.

The judge also refused to grant extra time for further hearings.

"When prima facie materials are placed on record that constitute the offenses, I do not find any reason to stall the investigation or quash the criminal proceedings," Justice M G Uma stated.

The court noted that the complainant had provided sufficient documentary evidence obtained through RTI, reinforcing the need for an investigation.

In the case, a private complaint was filed by M G Nagaraj alleging Sen's parents, Dhirendra and Nirmala Sen, his brother Chirag Sen, coach U Vimal Kumar, and a Karnataka Badminton Association (KBA) employee falsified birth records.

The complainant claimed Lakshya, former junior World champion, and Chirag's birth certificates were allegedly altered to reduce their ages by about two and a half years, to help them qualify for age-restricted badminton tournaments and gain government benefits.

He cited documents obtained through the Right to Information Act. The complainant asked the court to summon original records from the Sports Authority of India and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

On the basis of the complaint, the court directed High Grounds police to investigate.

The police registered an FIR under IPC Sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery), and 471 (using forged documents as genuine) of the IPC. However, in 2022, the accused approached the Karnataka High Court and secured an interim order, temporarily halting the probe.

The petitioners claimed the allegations were false and motivated by personal grudges. They claimed Nagaraj was acting out of resentment after his daughter was not selected for the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in 2020, where Vimal Kumar is a coach.