Cachar Court Sentences Fake Lawyer to Six Months in Jail

After the major crackdown on fake doctors in Cachar, in a fresh case of professional forgery, a man practising as a lawyer with fake credentials has been sentenced to imprisonment by the district court. The convict, Altaf Hussain Barbhuiya, a resident of Saidpur Part 4 under Sonai, was found guilty of forging educational documents to enrol himself as an advocate.

On Wednesday (November 26), the Court of First Class Judicial Magistrate–IV, presided over by Dr B. Hussain Mazumdar, awarded Hussain six months of imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs. 10,000. If he fails to pay the fine, he will be required to serve an additional three months in jail.

The matter dates back to 2008, when irregularities surfaced regarding Altaf Hussain’s educational qualifications. Despite practising for several years in the Cachar court as a member of the Advocates’ Bar Association, his credentials were challenged when doubts were raised about the legitimacy of his law degree.

A complaint was filed with the Bar Association claiming that Hussain had never cleared his LLB examinations, let alone passed with first division as he had claimed. Following the complaint, the Association contacted Karimganj Law College, where it was confirmed that although Hussain attended classes for a short period, he never appeared or qualified in the final examination. His certificate was declared fake.

Based on this verification, the Association lodged an FIR, and the police subsequently registered a case which later proceeded to trial. The case was initially heard before the Additional CJM and was later transferred to the Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class–IV, from where the conviction was finally delivered.

Reacting to the verdict, Advocates’ Bar Association President Ashok Ray welcomed the ruling but said the punishment should have been more stringent given the seriousness of the offence. He stated that the Association intends to appeal for enhancement of the sentence.

It has also come to light that shortly before the forgery was exposed in 2008, Altaf Hussain had won a local panchayat election, adding another layer of controversy to his background.