Rajasthan High Court suspects forgery of 101 signatures on Vakalatnama

The Rajasthan High Court on Tuesday ordered its Registrar (Judicial) to launch an inquiry to ascertain whether there was any forgery in the signatures of 101 litigants on a vakalatnama [Ranjeet Singh Chouhan and Ors. v State Of Rajasthan and Ors.]..Justice Dinesh Mehta suspected forgery after noting that the 101 litigants were scattered in various parts of the country, but had seemingly gathered at one place to sign the same vakalatnama (document authorising a lawyer to represent a litigant before a court)."How these 101 persons scattered in different parts of the State/Country have converged in the office of learned counsel for the petitioners and have signed on printout of one list and authorized petitioner No.1 to file and swear affidavit, is a question to be probed," the Court's March 19 order stated..The Court also noted that there were similarities in the handwriting of signatures attributed to different litigants."A cursory look at the Vakalatnama filed with the writ petition shows that most of the signatures have been inscribed in seemingly similar handwriting, with the same pen and hand," the Court observed..The Court also flatly refused a request by the petitioners' lawyer, advocate Surendra Singh Choudhary, to withdraw the petition after the judge expressed his inclination to direct an inquiry into the suspected forgery. "This practice has become the new normal where joint petitions are being filed with one Vakalatnama while appending the forged signatures of petitioners," the Court added in its order before listing the matter for further hearing on April 23..The Court was hearing a joint writ petition by retired Rajasthan government employees in a service dispute. Upon examining the Vakalatnama, the Court expressed confusion over such a joint petition being filed by 101 litigants from different parts of the country."A further look at the paper book shows that one Vakalatnama along with a list of 101 petitioners has been enclosed. This Court is unable to comprehend as to how a joint petition of such nature can be filed. The memo of petition does not contain any particular as to which petitioner had served which department and when he reitred," the Court remarked. .The judge concluded that a probe was warranted into whether the litigants had signed the vakalatnama themselves, or whether their signatures were forged. "The Registrar (Judicial) is directed to initiate an enquiry into the matter by calling all the petitioners and ascertain as to whether the signatures on the Vakalatnama have been inscribed by the petitioners themselves," the Court ordered..The Court proceeded to direct appearance of all the petitioners before the Registrar on April 15 and asked their counsel to appear with proof of the petitioners' identities. It further instructed the Registrar to obtain signatures of all the petitioners on a separate sheet, without showing them the signatures on the Vakalatnama enclosed with the writ petition. The Registrar is to then file a report on the appearance of the signatures. .[Read Order]