New Delhi: A Delhi court has convicted incarcerated conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar for posing as a sitting Supreme Court judge in an attempt to secure bail in an ongoing 2017 corruption case. While in police custody in April 2017, Chandrasekhar managed to access a police constable’s mobile phone to dial the landline and personal numbers of Special Judge Poonam Chaudhary, attempting to influence judicial proceedings and threatening her with career repercussions if bail was denied.
Delivering the judgment at the Tis Hazari Courts, Chief Judicial Magistrate Harshita Mishra condemned the act as an absurd theatrical ploy and a case of fatal institutional overreach. The court observed that judicial decisions are made strictly on legal records within open courtrooms rather than dictated through clandestine calls, noting that the judiciary does not negotiate its authority with shadow callers. Chandrasekhar was convicted under Sections 170, 189, and 507 of the Indian Penal Code for impersonating a public servant and criminal intimidation.
The court also strongly reprimanded the Delhi Police for conduct marked by indifference and investigative apathy during the probe. The magistrate pulled up the law enforcement agency for failing to determine how Chandrasekhar procured the constable’s handset or to recover the mobile device used in the commission of the offence, terming the overall inquiry superficial and shoddy.
