In a dramatic twist to a high-profile impersonation case, the Supreme Court has agreed to review a bail plea from a 25-year-old accused of masquerading as the former Chief Justice of Patna High Court. The alleged scam, dating back to 2022, involved deceiving the court’s Registrar General into purchasing 15 Amazon gift cards, each valued at ₹10,000.
The accused, identified as Md. Yusuf Ahmed, purportedly used a WhatsApp account featuring Justice Sanjay Karol’s profile picture to request the gift cards. Believing the request to be genuine, the Registrar General complied, only to discover the fraud when the cards could not be redeemed.
An FIR was subsequently filed, leading to charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act. Ahmed’s bail applications have been denied by both the Sessions Court and the High Court.
Now, Ahmed has turned to the Supreme Court, arguing his name only emerged from a co-accused’s confession and asserting there is no direct evidence against him. His legal team, comprising advocates Raja Choudhary, Sanyam Jain, Vikas Pal, Kumar Saurabh, Rajesh Singh Chauhan, and Gumrmehar Vaan Singh, contends that his prolonged detention since February 2023 is impeding his career prospects.
The Supreme Court has issued a notice on Ahmed’s plea and scheduled the next hearing for September 30, 2024.
