New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the criminal proceedings against Indian badminton player Lakshya Sen, his brother Chirag, parents and coach in a case where the ace shuttler is accused of fabricating his birth certificate to take part in junior badminton tournaments.
A bench headed by justice Sudhanshu Dhulia passed the order while issuing notice to the state of Karnataka and the complainant, MG Nagaraja, to respond to the petition by April 16, the next date of hearing.
Lakshya, the current world No.6, and Chirag, who is also a badminton player, are accused of fabricating their birth certificate showing their age to be less by about two-and-a-half years. Their parents are also accused of tampering with the birth records along with their coach, who is an employee of the Karnataka Badminton Association.
The order passed by a bench, also comprising justice K Vinod Chandran, said, “Until further orders, further proceedings in connection with FIR/Crime No.194/2022 dated December 1, 2022 registered by High Grounds Police Station, Bengaluru, Karnataka, shall remain stayed.”
This is a much-needed relief for Sen and his family after the Karnataka high court refused to stay the investigations against them on February 19. The order by a single judge bench of justice MG Uma said, “When prima facie materials are placed on record which constitute the offences, I do not find any reason either to stall the investigation or to quash the initiation of criminal proceedings.”
The HC found sufficient material for pursuing with the investigation as the complainant obtained them from the appropriate authority under the Right to Information Act. “Under such circumstances, I do not find any reason to entertain the petitions,” the HC had held.
The complaint by Nagaraja alleged that the parents of Lakshya and Chirag, in collusion with his coach, fabricated the birth certificates with a view to participating in tournaments and claiming benefits from the government.
Nagaraja alleged that the correct age of Lakshya is January/February 1996. However, the fabricated birth certificate shows his date of birth to be July 22, 1998.
He further stated that a departmental enquiry in this regard was conducted against Lakshya’s father Dhirendra Sen, who is a badminton coach working at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy. He was found guilty by the enquiry officer and his punishment was confirmed by the disciplinary authority.
On his complaint, the trial court referred the matter to the police to investigate the matter. Pursuant to this, police registered a crime under various provisions of cheating and forgery punishable under sections 420, 468, 471 read with section 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
Lakshya has had a meteoric rise in the game since he became the junior champion at the Asian championship held in 2018. He won the bronze medal at the BWF World Championship held in 2021 and earned successive laurels in 2022 with gold medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and silver at the All England Open. He came close to winning bronze at the Paris Olympics last year, losing in the bronze playoff.
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