Punjab & Haryana HC denies bail to lawyer accused of manipulating court proceedings

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has refused to grant bail to advocate Vikas Kumar, who is accused by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of conspiring with others to manipulate judicial proceedings as part of an alleged bid to grab trust property worth several crores [Vikas Kumar v Central Bureau of Investigation]

Justice Manisha Batra held that the allegations against the lawyer disclosed a prima facie case of participation in an organised criminal network aimed at usurping land belonging to Guru Nanak Vidhya Bhandar Trust in Delhi's Daryaganj.

"Being an advocate by profession, he is presumed to be well-aware about the consequences of the actions done by him, by manipulation of the legal proceedings, obviously with intent to influence judicial outcome to the detriment of the complainant-Trust," the Court observed in its order passed on July 27.

The Court added that Kumar allegedly colluded with co-accused persons who had created forged documents of the legitimate trust and then attempted to legitimise those documents by manipulating legal proceedings.

The case stemmed from two FIRs registered by Mohali police between 2022 and 2023. The High Court in October 2023 transferred the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). 

One FIR alleged that members of a fake trust forcibly attempted to take possession of about 32 bighas of land owned by the complainant trust at Zirakpur. The second concerned the alleged use of forged documents to claim ownership over the property.

According to the CBI, the accused had filed a civil suit through advocate Vikas Kumar after creating a trust bearing a name similar to that of the complainant trust.

Following dismissal of their interim injunction plea by a Dera Bassi court, the petitioner allegedly conspired to shift proceedings to Bathinda, where he regularly practiced, to facilitate manipulation of judicial proceedings.

The agency further alleged that Kumar summoned bank officials and other witnesses in unrelated cases to obtain financial records of the complainant trust, procure false testimony and exert pressure on the trust. It also accused him of fraudulently obtaining signatures on applications, summoning records without the knowledge of litigants and attempting to influence a material witness during the CBI investigation.

Seeking bail, Kumar argued that he had cooperated throughout the investigation and was never named in the original FIRs. He also said no recovery was to be made from him and that he had merely represented one of the trusts in his professional capacity. 

The CBI opposed the plea, contending that Kumar had actively assisted the co-accused by shifting adjudication from Dera Bassi to Bathinda, procuring false statements from witnesses and using unrelated litigation, including proceedings under the Domestic Violence Act, to summon witnesses and obtain records connected to the complainant trust.

It was further argued that there was a likelihood of witness intimidation and evidence tampering if he were released on bail.

The Court rejected the bail plea on the ground that the allegations attributed an active role to the accused lawyer in attempting to legalise forged documents by shifting the forum of adjudication, manipulating witnesses and influencing judicial proceedings.

Senior Advocate Gaurav Chopra with advocates Rohit Kapoor and Vikram Vir Sharda represented the petitioner.

Special Public Prosecutor Ravi Kamal Gupta represented the CBI.

Senior Advocate PS Ahluwalia with advocate Keerat Dhillon appeared for the complainant.

[Read Order]