Bombay High Court Orders Police Probe into Suspicious Calls to Judge’s Wife, Suspects Plot to Malign Judiciary
Bombay High Court Orders Police Probe into Suspicious Calls to Judge’s Wife, Suspects Plot to Malign Judiciary
Justice Madhav Jamdar of the Bombay High Court has directed the police to conduct an inquiry into a series of suspicious phone calls made to his wife, allegedly aimed at framing him. The calls were placed by Advocate Partho Sarkar on multiple occasions, raising serious concerns of a possible conspiracy linked to ongoing disciplinary proceedings against another lawyer.
In an order passed on April 29, Justice Jamdar revealed that between April 22 and April 24, 2025, Sarkar had repeatedly contacted his wife, expressing an urgent interest in purchasing a jointly owned Mumbai flat listed on an online platform. A similar call had also been made by Sarkar in October 2023.
Following these interactions, Justice Jamdar personally spoke to Sarkar on April 24 and informed him that he was a sitting judge of the Bombay High Court. Although Sarkar responded with laughter, the judge noted that it felt "unnatural" and suspicious in hindsight. Shortly thereafter, Justice Jamdar checked his wife's phone and confirmed via WhatsApp that the caller was Advocate Partho Sarkar. At no point during the call did Sarkar reveal that he was a lawyer.
Given the timing of these calls—shortly after the Court had, on April 9, directed the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa to initiate an inquiry into Advocate Vijay Kurle for unprofessional conduct—Justice Jamdar suspected a link. Sarkar is reportedly a close associate of Kurle.
Justice Jamdar has instructed the Senior Inspector of the Malabar Hill Police Station, or another senior official from the Maharashtra Police, to carry out an investigation into the calls made by Sarkar on the specified dates and to submit a report to the Registrar General of the High Court.
The order also noted other related incidents. On April 17, during proceedings before the same bench, Advocate Mathews Nedumpara—another associate of Kurle—allegedly behaved in a contemptuous manner, refusing to comply with courtroom decorum and walking out without permission after declaring he was “not a slave of the Court.” The judge linked this behavior to the April 9 order against Kurle, suggesting a pattern of conduct intended to undermine the Court’s authority.
“These actions appear to be part of a deliberate attempt to target and frame the Court following its order against Mr. Kurle,” the Court stated.
Given the seriousness of the situation, Justice Jamdar also directed that the matter be placed before the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court for reassignment to another bench.
Public Prosecutors HS Venegavkar and AS Gotad represented the State of Maharashtra in the matter. Advocate Subhash Jha appeared for Mathews Nedumpara, while Advocates Nicky Pokar and Ghanshyam Upadhyay represented Partho Sarkar.
Case Details
Case Title: Sabina Lakdawala Versus Feroze Y. Lakdawala & Ors.
Case No.: Writ Petition No.3707 Of 2022
Date: 29 APRIL 2025
Counsel For Petitioner: Hemali Kurne a/w Maria Nedumpara
Counsel For Respondent: Ashish Venugopal a/w Sagar Shetty
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