Tausif-Ul-Haque, a 22-year-old second year law student, had a habit of impersonating top Government officials to obtain undue favours. But this time, he ran out of luck when he called Uttar Pradesh Principal Secretary (law) RN Pandey after introducing himself as sitting Supreme Court Judge Justice Kurian Joseph and asked him to appoint his college lecturer as a Government law officer in the Allahabad High Court.
When the matter got suspicious, Pandey apprised Registrar of Supreme Court RN Nijhhawan of the matter. The Registrar got in touch with Justice Kurian Joseph. Shocked to hear, Justice Joseph raised the matter with the Chief Justice of India, who directed Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik to look into the case. Sensing the gravity of the charge, Patnaik transferred the case to the Special Cell of Delhi Police for investigation.
Tausif was picked up from lucknow after Special Cell sleuths tracked him down on Sunday. Police did not rule out other persons’ involvement in the case.
Police said the accused changed the true caller name of a mobile number to ‘Kurian Joseph Supreme Court of India’ before making the call to RN Pandey.
“Tausif had impersonated several higher Government officials by using the same modus operandi and got undue favours,” said a senior police official, adding, “The SIM card used in making call to Pandey was not registered in Tausif name. The person, in whose name the mobile number was registered, has been summoned for interrogation.”
“Tausif is a second year student of City law Academy in lucknow and his father Farhad-Ul-Haque is a judge. Tausif became a close friend of Ravi Shrivastav, a lecturer in his college. Shrivastav asked Tausif to get him appointed as a law officer with the Uttar Pradesh Government through his father as he is a judge and has contacts with top Government officials,” said the police official.
The official added Tausif posing as Justice Kurian Joseph called RN Pandey and recommended Shrivastava’s name for post of Government law officer in the Allahabad High Court.
“Investigations are on to find out involvements of other persons,” said the official.