The Allahabad High Court has ordered criminal and disciplinary proceedings against two advocates for allegedly misleading the Court by filing a manipulated copy of a land acquisition award that falsely mentioned a higher rate of interest than the original document.
A Division Bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Kshitij Shailendra held that advocates Shiv Kant Mishra and Krishna Kant Mishra deliberately altered the award to secure higher compensation for their clients.
The court observed that the advocates had acted deliberately, the Court directed the Registrar General to initiate proceedings under Section 340 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for prosecution under Section 199 of the Indian Penal Code for giving false evidence. It also ordered complaints to be filed before the Bar Council of India and the State Bar Council seeking cancellation of their licences.
The case arose from a review petition filed by the Bareilly Development Authority (BDA) against a 2024 High Court judgment directing payment of interest at 9 per cent for the first year and 15 per cent thereafter on land acquisition compensation.
The BDA contended that while the original 2016 award merely stated that interest would be payable “as per rules,” the typed copy produced by the landowners inserted the higher rates, leading the Court to grant enhanced interest. The BDA later discovered the discrepancy after releasing the amount during contempt proceedings.
Rejecting the explanation that it was a typographical error, the Bench held that inserting interest rates absent from the original award was a deliberate act of deception, not an inadvertent mistake. It also refused to accept the advocates’ apology, observing that it was prompted only after their misconduct came to light.
The Court made strong remarks on professional ethics, stating that litigants approach courts out of helplessness and repose complete faith in lawyers to act with integrity. It questioned whether advocacy continues to be viewed as a noble profession outside the legal fraternity.
Allowing the BDA’s review petition, the High Court recalled its earlier judgment, holding that it had been obtained by fraud, and directed the BDA to recover the excess amount paid to the beneficiaries as arrears of land revenue.
The post Allahabad High Court orders perjury action against two advocates for filing manipulated land acquisition award appeared first on India Legal.