An advocate in Mumbai now faces criminal prosecution after allegedly duping a 78-year-old woman with a fabricated court document, purportedly securing the release of her daughter from custody in a narcotics case. The Colaba Police have registered an FIR for cheating and criminal intimidation, marking yet another instance where vulnerable litigants were allegedly misled in the course of bail proceedings.
The complainant’s daughter, Priya Bharat Pujari, is facing prosecution under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, in a case pending before the Sessions Court. Initially, her bail application was rejected, but a subsequent application was filed and allowed, subject to conditions. Despite the grant of bail, the accused remained in custody owing to procedural formalities.
According to the complaint, Asha Pujari’s son-in-law introduced her to advocate Dev Gupta, who claimed he could secure the necessary release order for Priya’s release from Byculla Women’s Jail. It is alleged that Gupta demanded and accepted ₹53,500 in cash from the family and handed over a sealed envelope, purporting it to contain the judicial release order. When the complainant presented the document at the jail, prison officials informed her that it was not a valid order of release.
Upon being confronted, Gupta allegedly issued threats of harm to deter the complainant from approaching the authorities. Thereafter, Asha Pujari lodged a complaint, leading to the registration of an FIR at Colaba Police Station. Police have booked the accused advocate under the provisions of Section 420 and Section 506 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. An investigation into the incident is underway.
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