A man posing as a judge operated a fraudulent court in Gandhinagar, issuing illegal arbitration orders affecting more than 100 acres of land and properties worth crores of rupees, authorities said. 

Morris Samuel Christian, who faces multiple criminal charges, established an illegal court and tribunal, and 'ruled' on land disputes — including those under the jurisdiction of Ahmedabad district. He charged his clients ₹30 lakh per 'arbitration', as per the police, and named various officials from the government and the Amdavad Municipal Corporation, as the “opposing party”. 

Karanj police have filed a complaint and launched an investigation. 

Devious plans

The scam came to light when Christian issued an unauthorised arbitration award transferring government land in Paldi (Revenue Survey No. 306, Final Plot 32 of TP Scheme 6) to one Thakor Babuji Chhanaji.

To enforce this award, Babuji Thakor filed a civil application in the Sessions Court, showing the Collector as the opposing party. 

Government advocates Haresh Shah and Vijay Sheth discovered irregularities in the application, and Justice JL Chovatiya declared Christian a bogus arbitrator.

The primary investigation revealed that Christian had appointed himself as an arbitrator without government consent in violation of legal procedure.

Investigators said that Christian’s fraudulent rulings affected at least 11 properties, with 10 cases still pending. Several government officials, including the collector, had already recorded some of these fraudulent awards in official revenue records.

This isn’t Christian’s first brush with the law. Prior charges registered against him at the Maninagar police station include those under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, including fraud, forgery, and criminal trespass.

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