Mumbai court denies bail to woman who posed as Supreme Court lawyer to defraud builder

A sessions court in Mumbai recently denied bail to a woman who posed as a Supreme Court lawyer and defrauded a builder of lakhs of rupees after claiming that she would give him legal assistance in a case..Additional Sessions Judge VM Sundale observed that the woman is not a law graduate and has deceived several people by falsely representing herself as an advocate."The applicant not only cheated the public at large but she also attempted to disrespect the noble legal profession. The offence is serious and there is sufficient prima facie evidence against the applicant. The apprehension placed on record by the investigating officer in respect of pressurizing the prosecution witnesses and fleeing away from justice are well founded. In the facts and circumstances it will not proper to release the applicant on bail. Hence, the following order is passed," the judge observed..The accused, Poonam Khanna, moved the sessions court for bail after she was booked for cheating and other offences under the Indian Penal Code.The prosecution's case is that in 2019, one Ashok Mohanani sought legal representation for two cases in the City Civil Court. His friend introduced him to Khanna, who falsely claimed to be a practicing Supreme Court lawyer and offered to represent him in the cases. Khanna demanded legal fees of ₹15 lakh and the builder paid ₹10 lakh as an advance. In one of the cases, Mohanani was facing issues with construction at a village, since the electricity department had failed to install a transformer, resulting in a lack of electricity supply and financial losses for him and several other builders.Khanna assured the builders that she would file the necessary legal proceedings to secure the transformer, but demanded ₹3 crore, with 50 per cent in advance. After discussions, Mohanani and the other builders agreed to pay her ₹2,11,00,000 as quickly as possible. Over the course of the next few days, Khanna allegedly received an amount of ₹71 lakh pursuant to this agreement.However, Mohanani found that Khanna neither completed the work nor initiated any legal proceedings. Upon investigation, the builder discovered that she was not an advocate, and had deceived several others in the same way. This prompted Mohanani to lodge a complaint against Khanna..Counsel for the State argued that a total of eleven criminal cases were registered against Khanna in various police stations. During these investigations, it was revealed that Khanna had provided false residential addresses..At the outset, the court noted that woman's anticipatory bail pleas were rejected by both the Supreme Court and the High Court."It further appears that similar crime are registered against the applicant in Haryana State...In the course of investigation it is transpired that the applicant is not law graduate and she has deceived several persons by falsely representing to be an advocate...The applicant has no permanent abode. In the course of investigation the applicant had given false information about her residence," the Court noted while rejecting the bail plea..Advocate Nasima Battivala appeared for Khanna.APP Ratnavali Patil appeared for the State.Advocate Umesh Iyer appeared for Mohanani..[Read Order]