Prayagraj police have registered 99 FIRs in four days in connection with advocates allegedly enrolled on the basis of fake or fraudulent law and academic degrees, following a direction from the Allahabad High Court to the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh.
The High Court had directed the Bar Council to initiate criminal cases against 105 advocates identified during verification of their educational credentials. The remaining six FIRs are expected to be registered after the Bar Council submits the necessary documents to the Civil Lines police station.
Civil Lines Station House Officer Ramashrya Yadav said the Bar Council had so far submitted 99 applications for registration of cases concerning allegedly fake degrees. Police have begun investigating each of the registered cases and are collecting evidence and relevant documents for further legal action.
105 Advocates Identified During Verification
According to Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh officials, the 105 advocates were identified during scrutiny carried out under the Bar Council of India’s Certificate and Place of Practice Verification Rules, 2015.
The verification exercise found that the law degrees of these advocates were allegedly fake. Police said the scrutiny also brought to light fraudulent or tampered degrees purportedly issued by reputed institutions, including Allahabad University.
Each Case To Be Investigated Separately
Authorities are proceeding with a separate FIR for every advocate identified in the verification process rather than combining the allegations into a single case.
Police will investigate each FIR independently and examine the documents and evidence relating to the individual advocate. Further legal action will be taken in accordance with the facts that emerge during the respective investigations.
