‘Fake lawyer’ surrenders before court in Alappuzha

Sessy Xavier, 29, of Ramamkary in Kuttanad, practised law in Alappuzha for two-and-a-half years without proper qualification before she went absconding in 2021.

After being on the run for almost two years, ‘fake lawyer’ Sessy Xavier surrendered before the Alappuzha Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on Tuesday.

Ms. Xavier, 29, of Ramamkary in Kuttanad, practised law in Alappuzha for two-and-a-half years without proper qualification before she went absconding in 2021.

Following her surrender, the court remanded her in judicial custody. She was shifted to Special Sub Jail in Mavelikara. Ms. Xavier filed an application in the court seeking bail in the case.

The district Crime Branch, which is investigating the case, said that they would seek custody of the accused for a detailed interrogation. “Considering our application for issuing a production warrant, the court directed to produce the accused before it on April 28. An application seeking her custody will be submitted in the court,” said a Crime Branch official, adding that they had filed a report in the court opposing Xavier’s bail plea.

The alleged wrongdoings unfolded when the Alappuzha Bar Association, in June 2021, launched a probe after receiving an anonymous letter regarding Ms. Xavier’s qualifications. Although the association demanded an explanation from her, she failed to provide one. Later, Ms. Xavier was expelled from the association before a police complaint was lodged against her. She went into hiding. As per the complaint, she was working with the association since March 2018 and was given a membership in March 2019. She allegedly provided a roll number of an advocate based in Thiruvananthapuram and fake certificates to get the membership.

The Alappuzha North police registered a case against her in July 2021 under Sections 417 (punishment for cheating), 419 (punishment for cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 465 (punishment for forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) of the Indian Penal Code.

On July 22, 2021, she reportedly came to a local court in Alappuzha to surrender but left immediately after coming to know that the police had slapped a non-bailable section against her.