HC denies pre-arrest bail to law student allegedly posing as lawyer

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court has refused anticipatory bail to a final-semester LLB student accused of cheating, forgery, and criminal intimidation by posing as a practising lawyer.The case involves Falguni Sadhu from Kadi town in Mehsana district. An FIR was filed against her and others, accusing them of siphoning off Rs 8 lakh from the complainant, who allegedly paid the amount towards litigation fees. Fearing arrest, Sadhu sought legal protection from the high court.Sadhu's counsel submitted before the court that she had been falsely implicated with malicious intent. It was argued that she was only a final-semester LLB student working as a junior intern. She had neither filed a vakalatnama nor appeared in court and was merely handling revenue and document-related work connected to her brother-in-law, who is also an advocate. She denied any role in the monetary transaction mentioned in the FIR.The state govt opposed the anticipatory bail plea, citing the recovery of certain documents that allegedly showed Sadhu posing as a practising lawyer. It was further submitted that her custodial interrogation would be necessary to get to the root of the matter.After the hearing, Justice P M Raval noted that, during the investigation, a visiting card recovered from her identified her as an advocate, even though she had yet to complete her LLB. The card was allegedly issued by the Bar Council of Gujarat and bore enrolment number G/356-F/2019 in her name. A board was also recovered that displayed Sadhu's name as an advocate of the Supreme Court of India.The high court stated in its order: "It transpires that the noble profession of advocacy cannot be allowed to be tarnished in such a manner. Thus, custodial interrogation would be required to reach the roots of the alleged offence, ascertain the involvement of other persons, if any, and trace other victims…"