Lawyer missing after practicing law for over two years without a degree

Alappuzha: Lawyers in Kerala’s Alappuzha Session Court have been left stunned after learning that a woman who has worked with them for nearly two years and even competed and won a post in the District Bar Association was a fraud. Ramankary resident Sessy Xavier practiced law in Alappuzha and was an advocate commissioner several times. An anonymous letter alleging that she does not have a law degree forced her to flee, and no one knows where she is right now.

Xavier was once a law student, but she didn’t pass the exam due to  lack of attendance. Nonetheless, she managed to conceal this fact by approaching a senior lawyer in Alappuzha for an internship as part of her course. After completing the internship, she left and returned a couple of months later claiming she had completed her course and joined as his junior.

In March 2019 she became a member of the Alappuzha Bar Association, claiming to have applied for enrolment with the Bar Council. The 27-year-old has appeared in several court cases and gained a good reputation since then. She even ran in the Alappuzha Bar Association election for librarian this year and won with a comfortable margin.

Anonymous letter 
The Bar Association received an anonymous letter claiming that Xavier does not have a law degree. The Bar Association gave her 24 hours to produce her documents, but she failed to do so. By the time the Bar Association contacted the police with a complaint, Xavier had fled with several rare books and documents from the library.

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Additionally, Xavier’s Bar Council enrollment number came to light later as belonging to another lawyer. In addition to 420 IPC (cheating and dishonestly inducing property delivery), there is also a case filed against her under other sections. According to reports, Xavier was going to surrender in court on Thursday, but after learning that the police had added non-bailable charges against her, she fled.

While this is a unique case in Kerala, fake lawyers are not new in the country. It is estimated that 30% of all lawyers in India are fake, holding fraudulent degrees, according to a 2015 statement from the Bar Council of India (BCI). Since then, a two-year-long verification process has revealed that over 45% of lawyers in India are fakes.