Fake tribunal busted: This conman passed 'orders' as a judge since 2019

The accused had been running a fake tribunal since 2019, ruling in favour of those who paid him in land disputes

After a series of cases involving fake government offices, toll plazas, hospitals, and even officers, the Ahmedabad police have now uncovered a fake court in Gujarat. A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against a man accused of running a fraudulent arbitration tribunal, passing several fake arbitration orders between 2019 and 2024.

Morris Samuel Christian, a 37-year-old resident of Gandhinagar, was arrested on Monday for criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery, and providing false information to government servants. The FIR, filed at Karanj police station in Ahmedabad, came following a written complaint from Hardik Desai, a civil judge and current registrar of Civil Court, Ahmedabad. The complaint was lodged at the instruction of JL Chovatia, judge of the City Civil and Sessions Court, Ahmedabad.

 

The scam came to light during the hearing of a civil application at the City Civil Court, where one Babjuji Thakor claimed ownership of a parcel of government land in the Paldi area. Thakor had filed a civil case against the collector of Ahmedabad and presented a fraudulent claim certificate issued by Morris under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

According to the FIR, Morris acted as an arbitrator and falsely awarded ownership of the disputed land to Thakor in 2019. A note issued by the local police reads, “Morris claimed himself as an arbitrator, gave false claim statements for his clients, and created the entire arbitration proceeding” in a fake court he had established in Gandhinagar. Photographs of the fake court showed Morris posing as a judge, complete with courtroom paraphernalia to mimic an authentic judicial setting.

“He created an environment of a court by keeping staff, advocates, and presiding over as a judge,” the FIR revealed, further noting that Morris had filed cases himself, passed orders, and attempted to make applicants owners of land worth crores.

Police are now investigating at least a dozen false claims that Morris allegedly awarded to his clients. This case follows last year’s bust of six fake government offices that defrauded government funds running into crores. Similarly, five individuals were booked for operating a fake toll booth and extorting money from commuters in Morbi district.

(With PTI inputs)