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A writ petition filed in the Delhi High Court by Naresh Chand Gupta has cast a shadow over the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD), raising concerns about potential irregularities in its enrollment process. The petition alleges that several individuals, including some holding high positions within the Bar Council, obtained their licenses using fake academic degrees.

The petition details a series of events highlighting the alleged lapses by the BCD. In 2015, the Council itself filed a complaint against the then Law Minister of Delhi, Jitender Singh Tomar, for possessing fake degrees. An FIR was registered against Tomar, and investigations confirmed the forgery of his academic documents.

The same year, another writ petition, titled 'Yashpal Singh vs Bar Council of Delhi & Others,' was filed against Dalip Kumar Rana, who was also enrolled with the BCD based on an allegedly fake degree. The Bar Council, upon receiving the petition, assured the court that it would address the complaint within six weeks.

In an attempt to address concerns about fake degrees, the BCD initiated a verification drive in 2018, the Bar Council of Delhi initiated a verification drive for all its members, requesting documents to ascertain the authenticity of academic documents submitted at the time of enrollment. 

This process led to the identification of 117 advocates with forged LL.B degrees or mark sheets. In furtherance, the Bar Council of Delhi, in April 2018, published a list detailing 117 advocates enrolled with the council whose LL.B Degree or LL.B Final Year Mark Sheet was identified as fake. However, the list's publication sparked controversy when the name of Dalip Kumar Rana, against whom legal action was promised within six weeks on 13.10.2015, was noticeably absent.

Additionally, Madan Lal Gupta, whose name was included in the list, was also highlighted as a concern. He had previously been elected as the Executive Member of the Delhi Bar Association. The petitioner alleges that Bar Council members have been protecting individuals like Dalip Kumar Rana since 2015 based on ulterior motives and asserts that Gupta's license was canceled based on a false complaint. 

The petitioner claims to have received an anonymous tip-off in April 2023, suggesting that the sitting Vice Chairman of the BCD, is allegedly protecting his staunch supporter, Dalip Kumar Rana. The envelop contained photocopies of documents, purportedly revealing that both individuals possess fake academic degrees, as stated by the petitioner. He further claims that fueled by the information, embarked on a personal investigation, scrutinising the provided documents and confirming many discrepancies from various sources.

The petitioner also contends that, SANJEEV NASIAR, the sitting Vice Chairman of the Bar Council of Delhi, who is also a respondent in the matter, has been accused of manipulating the verification process to his advantage. It is claimed that in an attempt to avoid scrutiny, Nasiar selected the year 1990 for the verification cutoff. Additionally, a WhatsApp message allegedly sent by him informing the bar members that the notices for verification dated November 21 and 28, 2023, had been withdrawn. This adversely affected the verification process according to the petitioner.

The petitioner has, therefore, urged the high court to issue writs directing the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) and the Bar Council of India (BCI) to strike off the names of specific individuals (respondents) from the roll of advocates. This action is sought on the grounds that their names were obtained through the use of forged and fabricated academic documents.

Moreover, the petitioner requests that appropriate actions, including the registration of an First Information Report(FIR), be taken against these individuals for using these forged documents as genuine, with the intent of cheating and forgery, for the purpose of enrollment as an Advocate under the Advocates Act,1961. The petitioner, challenging the status quo, has demanded accountability and transparency from BCD.

Cause Title: Naresh Chand Gupta vs Bar Council of Delhi & ors.