New Delhi

A Delhi court has convicted a man for forging an official letter purportedly issued by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking a BJP ticket for himself in the 2019 Uttar Pradesh Assembly by-elections.

In a detailed judgment delivered on March 30, the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Jyoti Maheshwari at Rouse Avenue Court held accused Shivaji Yadav guilty of offences of forgery and using a forged document as genuine under Sections 465 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code.

The case revolved around a letter dated June 10, 2019, allegedly written by the UP Chief Minister to the Prime Minister recommending that Shivaji Yadav be allotted a BJP ticket from the Lucknow Cantt assembly constituency. Investigation later revealed that the letter was forged and had been sent to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

The court noted that while a genuine letter bearing the same dispatch number had actually been issued from the Chief Minister's Office to the Ministry of External Affairs, the document sent to the PMO was fabricated to appear official.

The prosecution established that portions of the forged letter--including the date, dispatch number, and envelope details were in the handwriting of the accused. Forensic analysis and witness testimonies confirmed that the document did not originate from the Chief Minister's Office and did not bear authentic signatures of Yogi Adityanath.

Further, the mobile numbers mentioned in the forged letter and envelope were traced back to the accused. Location data placed him in Badlapur, Jaunpur, at the exact time the letter was dispatched via speed post to the PMO.

The accused denied involvement and claimed false implication, even arguing that the Chief Minister himself was not examined as a witness. However, the court rejected these contentions, observing that the offence of forgery does not require proof of signature alone--fabrication of any part of a document with intent to deceive is sufficient.

The court found that the prosecution successfully established a complete chain of circumstances--creation of the forged document, its dispatch by the accused, and its receipt at the PMO, leaving no reasonable doubt about his guilt.

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It concluded that the accused had knowingly used the forged letter as genuine to further his political ambition of securing a party ticket.

Holding the evidence sufficient, the court convicted Shivaji Yadav for offences under Sections 465 and 471 IPC, emphasising that misuse of the names of constitutional authorities in forged documents undermines public trust and cannot be treated lightly.