 "Lakshya Sen age fraud case: Indian badminton star gets relief from Supreme Court to halt further probe")
synopsis
Lakshya Sen moved to the Supreme Court after the Karnataka High Court dismissed his petition to put a halt on the further investigation into the case in connection with the age fraud allegations
Indian badminton star and Olympian Lakshya Sen got relief from the Supreme Court to put a stay on further investigation in the case related to his age fraud. The Apex Court issued a notice on Lakshya Sen’s plea, staying coercive steps against him and others involved in the fabrication of his age.
Lakshya Sen moved to the Supreme Court after the Karnataka High Court dismissed his petition to put a halt on the further investigation into the case in connection with the age fraud allegations in birth certificates of the young badminton player. The Karnataka High Court dismissed Sen’s plea, ruling that there was a prime facie evidence to justify an investigation into alleged age forgery.
Justice MG Uma, while dismissing Lakshya Sen’s petition on Wednesday , stated that the petitioner’s lawyer did not present their arguments based on serious allegations with regards to the age fraud despite giving sufficient time to argue the case. The age fraud case stemmed from a complaint filed by MG Nagaraj, a businessman running a private academy, who accused Lakshya Sen’s parents, coach Vimal Kumar, and his brother Chirag for manipulating birth records in order to take unfair advantage in age-restricted tournaments.
After the Karnataka High Court dismissed Lakshya Sen’s plea, the badminton star moved to the Supreme Court, where he received a relief for a stay in further investigation into the age fraud case. Senior lawyer Aryama Sunderam, representing Lakshya Sen in the age fraud case, argued that Karnataka High Court dismissed his client’s petition for halting further investigation without even hearing the case of the young Indian shuttler.
“The Hon’ble Supreme Court has granted relief by staying the High Court order and further investigation. This brings much-needed clarity to the matter and we remain committed to pursuing our legal remedies.” Sen’s legal counsel said.
With the order on Tuesday, the further investigation into Lakshya Sen’s age fraud age
has been put on hold until further directives from the Supreme Court, providing temporary relief to Lakshya Sen and his family in the ongoing legal battle.
What is Lakshya Sen’s age fraud case?
In 2022, a business from Karnataka, MG Nagaraj filed a complaint against Lakshya Sen, his parents, Dhirendra and Nirmala Sen, coach and former player Vimal Kumar, his brother Chirag Sen and an employee at Karnataka Badminton Association for manipulating age records of the Indian badminton player. The complaint stated that Lakshya Sen faked his age to compete in the age-restricted tournament and avail benefits from the government.
Nagaraj submitted all the documents which he obtained through Right To Information (RTI) and sought the assistance of the court to acquire original records of Lakshya Sen’s age from Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs. Based on the evidence by the complaint, the Karnataka High Court directed the High Grounds police station to file an FIR against those involved in Sen’s age fraud case and initiate an investigation into the matter.
Following directives from the high court, police registered the case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 420 (cheating), Section 468 (forgery), and Section 471 (using forged documents as genuine).
The petitioners, including Lakshya, received interim relief in the case from the Karnataka High Court in 2022. Responding to the complaint filed by MG Nagaraj, the petitioners argued the allegations of age fraud are baseless, adding that it was personal motive by the complainant as his daughter was selected to the Prakash Padukone Academy in Bengaluru, where Vimal serves as a coach.
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