Law intern booked for impersonation after seeking adjournment in senior's case at MACT; Allahabad High Court stays arrest

The Allahabad High Court recently stayed the arrest of a law intern who was charged with impersonation and cheating after he had appeared before the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (MACT) and sought an adjournment in a case in which the lawyer under whom he was interning was appearing for one of the parties (Abhay Kumar Gupta v. State of Uttar Pradesh and Others).A Division Bench of Justices Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Saroj Yadav said that it prima face appeared to be an over zealous attempt by a law intern to seek adjournment rather than impersonation and the petitioner had honestly revealed to the presiding officer of MACT that he was a law intern and not a practicing lawyer."It does not appear to be a case where the petitioner is said to have impersonated himself as a lawyer. Prima facie, it appears to us that the petitioner over-zealously attempted to seek adjournment in a case where one of the parties appears to have been represented by the learned Advocate under whom the petitioner was interning," the Court noted.The order was passed on a petition by one, Abhay Kumar Gupta a law intern, seeking quashing of the first information report lodged against him for offences under Sections 419 (impersonation), 420 (cheating) and 171 (wearing garb or carrying token used by public servant with fraudulent intent) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)..Advocate Anil Kumar Mishra appearing for the intern, submitted that the petitioner was interning under a lawyer at the District Court, Rae Bareli and due to his curiosity and as a part of his training, he had been attending the court proceedings.On one such occasion, while attending a proceeding at MACT, he sought adjournment in one case in which his senior was one of the counsel.Advocate Mishra also drew the attention of the Court to the order of the presiding officer of the MACT dated October 4, 2021 which clearly recorded that on being asked, the petitioner told the presiding officer that he is a law student and not a practicing lawyer..The Court prima facie said that there was no attempt at impersonation but it was more of a case of overzealous law student attempting to argue before a judge."Having regard to the over all facts and circumstances of the case, we hereby direct that till the next date of listing, the petitioner Abhay Kumar Gupta shall not be arrested. However, the petitioner shall cooperate with the investigation," the Court ordered..[Read Order]