A district court in Bhopal has sentenced a man to three years in jail for impersonating a lawyer and practising law for 18 years using forged documents. The convict, Ravindra Kumar Gupta, was also fined ₹4,000 by the court.
The verdict was pronounced by the 25th Additional Sessions Judge Pehlaj Singh Kamethiya. Public Prosecutor Satish Samaiya represented the prosecution.
The case came to light after a complaint was lodged by Advocate Rajesh Vyas at the MP Nagar police station. In his complaint, Vyas alleged that Gupta had fabricated a sanad (certificate) of the Madhya Pradesh State Bar Council and fraudulently secured membership in the Bhopal District Bar Association. He reportedly became a member on August 14, 2013, with membership number 4008.
Further investigation revealed that Gupta had forged another Bar Council of Madhya Pradesh certificate, claiming it to be certificate number 1629/1999 dated August 17, 1999. However, this certificate was actually registered under the name of Advocate Pradeep Kumar Sharma from Ujjain.
Authorities issued a notice asking Gupta to produce his original documents. On April 3, 2017, he submitted another certificate, which was also found to be fake. It was conclusively established that Gupta was never enrolled as an advocate and had no legal authority to practise law.
Since 1999, Gupta had been appearing in courts, interacting with police and litigants, and providing legal advice—all while dressed in the traditional black coat worn by advocates. He also charged illegal fees from clients and dispensed unauthorised legal opinions.
Gupta was booked under sections 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code. The police investigation confirmed the charges, leading to his conviction.
