The Supreme Court has provided relief to Indian badminton player Lakshya Sen by staying coercive action against him in an age fraud case.
The court issued a notice in response to a Special Leave Petition filed by Sen, challenging the Karnataka High Court’s decision to reject his plea for quashing the investigation. A bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K. Vinod Chandran issued the order, with the case now scheduled for a hearing on April 16.
The case stems from allegations that Lakshya Sen, along with his family members and coach, manipulated birth certificates to compete in age-restricted badminton tournaments.
The Karnataka High Court earlier ruled that there was sufficient evidence to warrant an investigation, leading to an FIR against Sen, his parents, his brother Chirag Sen, coach U Vimal Kumar, and an employee of the Karnataka Badminton Association.
The complaint was filed by MG Nagaraj, who accused the group of reducing the recorded age of Lakshya and Chirag Sen by around two and a half years. He claimed that this alleged forgery helped them qualify for underage tournaments and receive government benefits.
Nagaraj presented documents obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act and requested the court to summon original records from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
Following these allegations, the High Grounds police station registered an FIR under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those related to cheating, forgery, and using forged documents.
However, Sen and the other accused moved the Karnataka High Court in 2022, securing an interim order that temporarily halted the investigation.
The petitioners argued that the case was baseless and motivated by personal vendetta.
They claimed that Nagaraj filed the complaint after his daughter was denied admission to the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in 2020. Since Vimal Kumar was associated with the academy, they alleged that Nagaraj included his name in the complaint out of spite.
Despite these arguments, Justice M G Uma of the Karnataka High Court dismissed the petitions, stating that the petitioners’ counsel had not made a case to halt the probe. The court noted that sufficient documentary evidence was presented, justifying the need for further investigation.
With the Supreme Court's intervention, the investigation remains paused until the next hearing in April. The case continues to draw attention, given Sen's prominence in Indian badminton and the serious nature of the allegations.
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