Big relief for Lakshya Sen, Supreme Court bars Karnataka police from taking coercive steps against India's star shuttler

Lakshya Sen in action during the Paris Olympics (PTI/File Photo)

The Supreme Court on Tuesday barred Karnataka Police from taking any coercive steps against badminton player Lakshya Sen, his family members, and coach over allegations of forging birth certificates. A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K Vinod Chandran issued notice to the Karnataka government and the complainant M G Nagaraj who alleged birth certificates of Sen and his brother Chirag Sen were forged.

The top court was hearing a plea challenging February 19 order of the Karnataka High Court which rejected the petitions filed by Sen, his family members, and his coach U Vimal Kumar. The high court ruled there was prima facie evidence warranting an investigation into the case. The case stems from a private complaint filed by Nagaraj, who alleged Sen's parents Dhirendra and Nirmala Sen, along with his brother, coach, and an employee of the Karnataka Badminton Association, were involved in falsifying the birth records.

According to the complaint, the accused allegedly manipulated the birth certificates of the Sen brothers, reducing their age by approximately two-and-a-half years. The alleged forgery was intended to allow them to participate in age-restricted badminton tournaments and avail government benefits.

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Nagaraj supported his claims with documents obtained under RTI Act and requested the court to summon original records from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in New Delhi. Based on this evidence, the court directed the High Grounds police station to conduct an investigation.

Following the court's directive, the police registered an FIR under Sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery), and 471 (using forged documents as genuine) of IPC.

However, the petitioners moved the Karnataka High Court in 2022, securing an interim order that stalled the investigation. The petitioners argued that the complaint and subsequent FIR were baseless, motivated, and intended to harass them. They alleged Nagaraj was acting out of personal vendetta, claiming his daughter had applied to join the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in 2020 but was not selected after the evaluation process. Kumar, a coach at the academy, was named in the complaint.

The high court, while dismissing the petitions, observed that the petitioners' counsel did not present arguments despite being given sufficient opportunities and refused more time.