The Supreme Court on Wednesday cancelled the bail granted by the Allahabad High Court to one Mazahar Khan accused of issuing forged degree certificates to lawyers [Zeba Khan v. State of Uttar Pradesh]..A Bench of Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R Mahadevan set aside the order passed by the High Court on July 30, 2025.The apex court noted that the case against the accused is not an isolated instance of forgery and it has a direct bearing on the integrity of legal profession."The case against Respondent No. 2 is not confined to an isolated instance of forgery. It prima facie discloses a systematic and organised course of conduct involving the fabrication, procurement, and use of false educational qualifications, particularly law degrees, which has a direct bearing on the integrity of the legal profession," the Bench said.The top court further noted that the accused had misused his liberty to stalk and intimidate the complainant after securing bail."The submission that Respondent No. 2 has not misused the liberty granted to him cannot be considered in isolation. There are prima facie allegations of stalking and intimidating the appellants after the grant of bail. The existence of a family or property dispute does not dilute the gravity of allegations involving impersonation as a legal professional and the use of such credentials before courts, which have serious public and institutional ramifications," the Court said while setting aside the bail order.However, the Court declined to order a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the matter..Khan was arrested by the Bengaluru police from Maharashtra for his involvement in a case of forged BHMS degree issued in the name of an institution in Karnataka. This was based on a complaint by a law practitioner, Zeba Khan (complainant). Khan was running an educational institute in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.It later came to light that he was wanted by the Uttar Pradesh Police for forged degree certificates issued to lawyers.He was then being tried at Jaunpur District Court in UP. The Allahabad High Court granted bail to Mazahar Khan against which the complainant filed the present appeal before the apex court. .Besides challenging bail, the complainant also sought a probe by CBI into the matter.The Court cancelled the bail granted to Khan but declined to order a CBI probe."No specific or substantial material has been placed on record to demonstrate that the investigation conducted by the State Police was vitiated by mala fides, bias or extraneous influence," the top court said..Advocates Shreevardhan Dhoot, Alabhya Dhamija, Arjun Aggarwal and Amrit Rathi appeared for the complainant..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.
