Gujarat man sets up fake court, runs it for 5 years as a 'judge'. Here's how he got caught

A 37-year-old man in Gujarat has been arrested for running a fake court, posing as a judge, and passing orders for five years in land dispute cases. Morris Samuel Christian had set up the "court" in Gandhinagar area in 2019 and preyed on unsuspecting people entangled in land disputes. He promised them swift resolutions for hefty fees, the police said. Christian also had his associates pose as court personnel to fool his clients.

According to a note issued by the police, the accused "claimed himself as an arbitrator, gave false claim statements for his clients, and created the entire arbitration proceeding" in the fake court he had set up in Gandhinagar. Several photos of his "courtroom" showed Christian sitting like a judge along with all the required props giving the impression of a real courtroom.

"He created an environment of a court by keeping staff, advocates and himself presided over as a judge," Deccan Herald reported quoting from the FIR. It stated that Christian "himself filed cases, passed orders, and tried to make applicants owners of land worth crores."

The matter came to light at the city civil court after Christian's client Babjuji Thakor filed a case against the Ahmedabad collector, claiming rights over a piece of government land in Paldi area. To prove his ownership, Thakor had produced the claim certificate awarded to him fraudulently by Christian under Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

On inspecting the document, the court registrar discovered that Christian was not a judge and was running a fake court. He then approached the police. The Karanj police lodged an FIR under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 170 (pretending to hold any office as a public servant) and 419 (cheating by personation).