Court convicts man for forging UP CM’s signs to get BJP ticket

A Delhi court convicted Shivaji Yadav for forging CM Yogi Adityanath's signature to secure a BJP ticket, compromising public trust. Sentencing is on April 20.

A Delhi court has convicted a man for forging Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s signature on a recommendation letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to secure a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket for the 2019 UP Assembly byelection, observing that misusing the names of public functionaries compromises the sanctity of official communications.

(Shutterstock)

“The misuse of the names of public functionaries is often dismissed as trivial, yet when it assumes the form of a forged official act, it strikes at the very foundation of public trust,” the order stated.

The judgment was passed by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Jyoti Maheshwari of Rouse Avenue courts on March 30, and the sentencing is set to take place on April 20.

The court noted that the case revealed a deliberate attempt to lend authenticity to a fabricated communication by invoking the name and office of a constitutional functionary.

The June 10, 2019, letter, purportedly signed by CM Yogi and received by the Prime Minister’s office, recommended Yadav for the Lucknow Cantt assembly constituency for the bye-election.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case against Yadav in December 2020 following a complaint by the Prime Minister’s Office.

The CBI investigation revealed that the letter was forged, and certain portions resembled Yadav’s own handwriting. Additionally, officials at the CM’s office in Lucknow confirmed that the chief minister neither issued the letter nor did it bear his genuine signature.

According to the CBI, Yadav was involved in local politics, having unsuccessfully contested the Block Development Council (BDC) elections from Raipur in 2015-2016, and was attempting to secure a BJP ticket for the 2019 polls.

In 2022, the court framed charges under penal sections pertaining to the fraudulent or dishonest use of forged documents or electronic records as genuine and forgery. During the trial, the prosecution examined 20 witnesses.

The court noted, “Such acts, by their very nature, have the potential to disturb the sanctity attached to official processes and communications.”

The court added that the law must take its course, as the evidence on record clearly established the creation and use of a false document with an intent to deceive.

“This court finds that the prosecution has successfully established, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the accused Shivaji Yadav fabricated the document in question and knowingly used it as genuine. The chain of circumstances is complete and points unerringly towards the guilt of the accused,” the court stated.