Faux Court in Gujarat: Lawyer Arrested for Fraudulent Arbitration | Ahmedabad News – Times of India

AHMEDABAD: Some lawyers like to take up causes pro bono (free). Morris Christian prefers to act suo motu – on his own, in his own “court”.
That was the case history of the Ahmedabad advocate until Monday when he was arrested on a local court’s directive for running a fake arbitration tribunal in Gandhinagar. It has now turned out that he does not have a valid licence to practise law.
The civil court ordered an FIR against Morris and his accomplices when one such order involving Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation‘s land (AMC) land was challenged. The court found that Morris passed the order in favour of claimants to usurp the land worth over Rs 100 crore. The court termed the order of the fake tribunal “void ab initio” and “not enforceable” as Morris had appointed himself an arbitrator without authority and passed the fraudulent order.
It has now emerged that Morris does not have a valid lawyer’s licence and had been in jail for three months over this in 2007. “Morris claimed he had a degree from some international law university and a licence from ‘International Bar Council’. He practised in different courts by forging certificates and degrees. No such council existed,” Anil Kella, advocate and chairman of Bar Council of Gujarat’s finance committee, said.
Morris’s dealings had been on the radar of local courts for five years when some people challenged his orders and awards as an arbitrator.

Despite contempt proceedings, Morris was undeterred

In the past, Gujarat high court stayed several of his decrees. He even faced contempt proceedings, and the district collector had sealed his office -made to look like a court of law -some years ago.
Yet, Morris was undeterred -until Monday when the civil court called his bluff, noting that there were 10 other cases in which he passed orders pertaining to plots worth crores belonging to govt, AMC and private parties.
Not the one to lose an argument, Morris put up a stout defence, claiming he was a member of Indian Council of Arbitration and, therefore, authorised to pass such orders. He even told the court how he functioned.
Judge CL Chovatiya was not persuaded. “In the past, contempt proceedings took place against Morris but he does not stop his illegal activity and continues to pursue it vigorously by creating a set-up that is like a court of law, by making all administrative arrangements himself,” the judge said, noting Morris disposed of “500 cases” every month.
The court ordered its registrar to have the FIR lodged against Morris and his aides under several sections, including 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy), leading to his arrest.
The court underlined that Morris’s primary intention was to usurp govt land. “Though advocate (Morris) Christian was not appointed as an arbitrator-judge, he acted as one and passed an exparte order (in AMC case) without adhering to legal provisions. He created a fake tribunal -a kind of court, creating the atmosphere of a court, keeping lawyers present, behaving like a judge, filing claims-suits and making it all appear real…,” the judge said.