Suspended Advocate Son held for giving client fake HC order

City police on Friday arrested Homi Maratha, a resident of Ambavadi, for creating a fake Gujarat high court order by forging the signature of the then judge, Justice HK Rathod. Crime branch officials said Homi's father, Navinchandra Maratha, who is a suspended advocate, is also an accused in the same case.

"We could not find him at his residence," said a police officer. "We are searching for him."

Assistant Commissioner of Police, crime branch, KN Patel said Sanjay Dalal, an army officer then based in Ahmedabad, had approached Homi Maratha to file a petition against the Army denying him promotion to the rank of Colonel.

"Dalal had come to know about the advocate while surfing the Net," said police inspector J S Geddam. "Nevertheless, posing as an advocate, Homi accepted the case and took Rs 1.60 lakh from the Army Officer as advance payment of the total fee of Rs 3 lakh."

Crime branch officials said later Dalal was transferred to Rajasthan and even promoted to the post of Colonel in Bikaner.

"However, when Dalal inquired about the outcome of the petition, Homi mailed him the fake high court order with forged signature of Justice HK Rathod," said Geddam. "The court order was in his favour. Homi took the remaining Rs 1.40 lakh of the fee."

Sources in the crime branch said that when the Colonel demanded the original copy of the order to submit it to the army, Homi began giving excuses.

"The Colonel became suspicious," said a crime branch official. "When he checked the status of his petition, he found that the petition number given to him by Dalal was of some other plea." Police officials said correspondence with the Gujarat high court registrar also revealed that no such petition was filed.

Later, the Colonel approached the city crime branch and lodged a complaint against Homi and his father Navinchandra.

"During investigation, we found that the fake court order was mailed by Homi and, hence, we arrested him," said police inspector Geddam. "We are searching for his father Navinchandra who has been suspended by the Bar Council in connection with 14 cases of cheating lodged against him at Dholka police station."