CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (BCTNP) to hold an inquiry and take appropriate action against four lawyers in connection with a scam to claim compensation for motor vehicle accidents.
“The reports filed before this court point to the culpability of four advocates. In view of the same, there shall be a direction to the BCTNP to immediately initiate inquiry,” Justice N Anand Venkatesh said in a recent order, and directed the BCTNP to take immediate action against the lawyers as per the relevant law.
The four advocates are Manohar Reddy, his wife Bharathi, K Selvi, and M Sankar, all from Hosur.
Medical bills for 80 claims were found to be fabricated, and in 12 cases, the bill amounts were inflated. The bills were obtained from Kauvery Hospital and Ashok Hospital, the judge said, quoting a report by the Commercial Crimes Investigation Wing (CCIW), a unit of the police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW).
The court gave a special investigation team (SIT) set up to probe the scam two weeks to lodge complaints with the respective police stations, and directed the CCIW DSP to submit a final report in four weeks. The insurance companies concerned were told to file fresh complaints with the police regarding the fake claims.
It may be noted that 84 claims, involving Rs 11.70 crore, were filed in Hosur and were pending before the additional district judge and principal sessions judge there. Surprisingly, all claims were dismissed as not pressed during the hearings in 2019.
However, when the matter reached the high court, it ordered formation of the SIT for a probe. The Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority was also ordered to look into the issue.
Source: https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2022/apr/21/mva-scam-madras-hc-directs-tn-bar-council-to-act-against-four-lawyers-2444502.html
