Maharashtra: Teacher gets three years RI for writing forged letter on behalf of court to avoid alimony payments

A 48-year-old teacher from Akola district in Maharashtra has been sentenced to a harsh three-year prison term for drafting a forged letter on behalf of the court asking him to stop paying child support to his wife.

The convict, Santosh Ingle, is stationed at a school in Sindhudurg district. He lives in Navegaon in Akola district.

The Court of First Class Judge KK Kurandale in Patur, Akola District convicted Ingle under Section 248(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure of committing an offense punishable under Section 468 (Forgery for the Purpose of Fraud) of the Indian Criminal Code.

The court ordered Ingle to pay Rs 3,000 a month alimony in December 2016 and ordered Kudal Sindhudurg block development officials to deduct the amount from his monthly salary, prosecutors said.

The forgery came to light in August 2018 when the court sought a status report on child support payments from the principal of the school where Ingle was based.

The court ordered an investigation after the report submitted by the headmaster said the withdrawal of Rs 3,000 has been halted under the court order.

After confirming that the court had not issued such an order and that the letter received by the school was fake, a case was filed against Ingle in December 2020 for forgery and fraud, prosecutors said.

A total of 11 witnesses were heard at the trial.