The Supreme Court is currently dealing with a perplexing case involving a 'ghost litigant' who allegedly secured a favorable order based on a fabricated compromise in a land dispute. The court has now directed the Bar Council of India (BCI) to investigate the matter. The case has deepened as lawyers whose names appeared on the Supreme Court's order sheet have denied any connection to the matter.

The incident revolves around an alleged fake compromise agreement, raising concerns about the misuse of court processes and possible identity fraud within the judicial system. The Supreme Court had initially passed an order in December 2023 based on what appeared to be a duly represented agreement. The court quashed orders passed by a Muzaffarpur trial court and the Patna High Court against the litigant, based on the purported compromise.

However, the real opposing party later surfaced, informing the court that no such compromise had been entered into and that they had not authorized any lawyer to represent them before the apex court. This prompted the court to recall its earlier order, which was based on the fake compromise.

As the mystery surrounding the 'ghost litigant' continues to unravel, the Supreme Court is now tasked with deciding whether to involve law enforcement to trace the real culprit behind this manipulation of the judicial process.

During a hearing, Advocate Ratan Lal, one of the four lawyers named in the December order, appeared before the court and stated that he had no connection to the case and did not know how his name appeared in the records.

The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and the Supreme Court Advocates-On-Record Association (SCAORA) have urged the court to order a police investigation and a forensic examination of the documents to identify the perpetrator. SCAORA President Vipin Nair suggested that the possibility of the petitioner engaging in fabrication could not be ruled out and that a thorough inquiry was necessary. The associations have also expressed suspicion that an outsider, not a member of the legal profession, was behind the fabrication.

A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Atul S Chandurkar has granted the BCI eight weeks to investigate the controversy and file a report. The court will consider a police investigation after receiving the BCI's report. The bench accepted the plea of SCAORA president Vipin Nair, who submitted that the BCI should first inquire into the alleged role of lawyers, and thereafter, the police could be involved for further investigation if some outsider was involved.