Delhi court denies bail to advocate using fake law degree for enrolment

A Delhi court rejected the anticipatory bail plea of a man accused of securing enrolment as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) on the basis of a forged law degree and fabricated documents.

Additional Sessions Judge Shunali Gupta, who was hearing the plea filed by advocates K Rajan and Kartik Chettiav on behalf of J Vansanthan, denied the relief, saying the allegations against Vansanthan were serious and that custodial interrogation may be required to unearth a larger conspiracy.

In an order dated December 15, the court said, “Considering the totality of facts and circumstances and taking note of the serious allegations not just against the applicant herein but others named in the investigation who run a syndicate in facilitating enrolment in the Bar Council on the basis of fake documents.”

“In order to unearth the conspiracy behind and to reach out to other members of the syndicate, custodial interrogation of the applicant may be needed. Therefore, at this stage, I do not find any grounds for the grant of anticipatory bail,” the judge added.

Vansanthan was accused of obtaining enrolment with the Bar Council of Delhi by submitting a fake LLB degree and marksheet and was subsequently suspended from practising law after a verification revealed that the documents were forged.

Seeking anticipatory bail, Vansanthan had told the court that he had completed his law graduation from Bhartiya Shiksha Parishad, Uttar Pradesh, and had sought enrolment with the BCD through intermediaries.

He said that he had paid Rs 95,000 in cash to two persons for facilitating his enrolment and later discovered that the documents purportedly issued by Bundelkhand University, Jhansi, had been submitted without his knowledge.

Rejecting the bail, the court noted that the accused has not graduated in law from Bundelkhand University but has studied from Bhartiya Shiksha Parishad, and as on date, the same has not been recognised by the education department as a university-affiliated and recognised to give law degrees.

The FIR was registered against Vansanthan on October 8, 2025, at the Hauz Khas police station.