In a significant disciplinary action, the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa (BCMG) has suspended Advocate Ranjeeta Vengurlekar from legal practice for a period of two years after finding her guilty of charging a fake court fee of ₹80,000 from a client. Alongside the suspension, the Council has also ordered her to pay ₹25,000 in costs to the affected client who adduced substantial evidence to fortify his case against her.

The case stems from a complaint lodged by Abhijeet Jagannath Zadokar, who alleged that Vengurlekar misled him into believing that a substantial court fee of ₹80,000 was required for his case and subsequently provided a fake receipt to substantiate the claim. In total, the client stated that he had paid approximately ₹1.5 lakh as legal fees, and due to her alleged misconduct and negligence, he suffered a financial loss of nearly ₹21 lakh.

The evidence submitted by the complainant, including WhatsApp messages that detailed the advocate’s demand for the ₹80,000 court fee. Additionally, the electronic communication was supported by a Section 65B certificate under the Indian Evidence Act, which authenticates digital records admissible as legal evidence.

The matter was examined by a three-member disciplinary committee of BCMG, comprising Chairman U.P. Warunjikar and members S.D. Desai and A.A. Garge. The committee reviewed the evidence submitted by the complainant and upon reviewing the material, it was found that the court fee receipt provided by Vengurlekar was not genuine thereby establishing a clear case of misconduct.

The committee’s official order stated,“Complaint is partly allowed...The sanad (license to practice law) of the Respondent is suspended for a period of two years. A cost of ₹25,000 is awarded in favour of the Complainant. The Respondent is directed to pay the said amount within one month from the date of receiving this order.”

Case Details: Mr. Abhijeet Jagannath Zadokar v/s Ms Ranjeeta Ramesh Vengurlekar. Adv. D.C. No.169 of 2024