Court official faces investigation for bigamy

A departmental inquiry was ordered into the secondmarriage of a senior clerkin the office of the chief judicial magistrate, Thane, last year. BH Ahire, who is at the fag end of his service,has contested the inquiry, stating that his second marriage — be itlegal or otherwise — cannot tarnish his service record.

On June 16, Ahire was charge-sheeted in an inquiry initiated against him by the district judge. The charge sheet stated that Sunita Bagul, a Vasai resident, had been following the proceedings of a case in the Thane court since April 2005.

Ahire befriended her, and started having physical relation with her in 2007. He married Bagul in January 2008, concealing from her his first marriage, and the son born of it.

Ahire has challenged the district judge’s order that denied his legal representative, Edrich Miranda, permission to argue his case.

“Since it is a departmental inquiry, he is not permitted to engage a lawyer. But no rules have been cited to support the contention that only a government employee can represent him,” Miranda said. “If at all there are allegations of bigamy or cheating against him, he should be tried under the Indian Penal Code.”

The charge sheet against Ahire has enlisted other allegations — such as him filing a false complaint against a judge alleging that he had abused him over caste, and his “irregularity” in filing monthly records of the court. The charge sheet said that his behaviour was not befitting of a government servant.

“He is nearing the age of retirement, and the woman is relatively younger. She claimed to be press reporter,” Miranda said. He added that the inquiry was initiated on the basis of Bagul’s complaint.

Without a legal representative, Ahire would not be able to cross examine witnesses in the trial, and that would put him at a disadvantage. For this reason, the district judge has been urged to reconsider Miranda’s appointment.