Badminton Player Lakshya Sen Age Fraud Case: The Karnataka High Court has rejected the petitions filed by badminton player Lakshya Sen, his family members, and his coach U Vimal Kumar in connection with the allegations of fabricating birth certificates. The order was passed by Justice M G Uma on February 19, and was made recently available. The complainant in this case, who runs a badminton academy, alleged in 2022 that Kumar, a badminton coach at Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, colluded with the parents of Lakshya Sen and his brother and forged a birth certificate document in 2010 to allow their participation in tournaments which are restricted to certain age groups. The complainant alleged that birth certificates were fabricated to claim government benefits after participating in the tournaments. He produced certain documents obtained by way of RTI in support of his argument. The police registered a case in 2022 under sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), and 471 (using as genuine a forged record) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). However, the investigation was not concluded after the Karnataka High Court granted an interim stay. While refusing the petition to quash the proceedings against Lakshya Sen and others, Justice M G Uma observed the authenticity of the documents produced before the court was not challenged. “When prima facie materials are placed on record which constitute the offences, I do not find any reason either to stall the investigation or to quash the initiation of criminal proceedings. There are sufficient materials that are placed before the Court by the complainant which are the documents that are obtained under the Right to Information Act from the appropriate authority. Under such circumstances, I do not find any reason to entertain the petitions,” said Justice Uma. Lakshya Sen, a former junior World No 1, has won medals at various international events including the World Championships and Commonwealth Games, and is also a recipient of the Arjuna Award. His father DK Sen is also a badminton coach.
