Jammu, November 13: The date-of-birth controversy surrounding former cricketer and BCCI official Mithun Manhas has reached the sessions court in Jammu, with Sudershan Mehta, former Joint Honorary Secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), challenging an earlier order that dismissed his complaint seeking registration of an FIR against Manhas.
The 1st Additional Sessions Judge, Jammu, Amarjeet Singh Langeh, on November 10 issued notice to the respondents, including Manhas and the Jammu and Kashmir Police. The matter has been listed for November 20.
Mehta has filed a criminal revision petition challenging the November 6 order of the Sub-Judge/Special Railway Magistrate, Jammu, which dismissed his application seeking directions for registration of an FIR under Section 175(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
In his petition, Mehta has alleged that Manhas used different dates of birth in various records to gain an unfair advantage in junior and sub-junior cricket tournaments.
He has cited information from Maharaja Hari Singh Agricultural Collegiate School, Nagbani, which allegedly showed Manhas’s date of birth as December 9, 1977, while information from Mahavir Jain Higher Secondary School, Jammu, and an entry on the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) website allegedly mentioned October 12, 1979.
Challenging the lower court’s decision, Mehta has argued that it erred by relying on a preliminary police inquiry conducted by the same police station which had allegedly failed to register his complaint. He has maintained that the court should have independently verified the records from the schools, Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) and DDCA.
The police inquiry, on which the lower court relied, reportedly found September 12, 1977, consistently recorded in Manhas’s Aadhaar, PAN and CBSE records. While dismissing the application, the lower court had also observed that Mehta could approach DDCA for verification of its records.
The sessions court has so far only issued notices to the respondents. It has not examined the merits of the allegations or ordered registration of an FIR. The matter will come up for hearing on November 20.
