The Supreme Court stayed proceedings in a First Information Report (FIR) against former world junior number 1 badminton player Lakshya Sen and others in connection with allegations of birth certificate forgery to compete in junior tournaments.

A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K Vinod Chandran also issued notice to the Karnataka government and the complainant, MG Nagaraj, seeking their response.

Nagaraj had alleged that Lakshya Sen and his brother, Chirag Sen, used forged birth certificates to falsely reduce their ages.

"Issue notice, returnable on April 16, 2025. Until further orders, further proceedings in connection with FIR/Crime No.194/2022 dated December 1, 2022, registered by High Grounds Police Station, Bengaluru, Karnataka, shall remain stayed," the Supreme Court ordered.

The case stems from a private complaint filed by Nagaraj, who alleged that the Sen brothers' birth certificates were fraudulently altered with the involvement of their parents and coach, an employee of the Karnataka Badminton Association. The alleged manipulation reportedly reduced their ages by about two and a half years, enabling them to compete in age-restricted tournaments and avail government benefits.

Based on these claims, the police registered an FIR under Sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery), and 471 (using forged documents as genuine) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

In 2022, the Sen brothers, along with their parents and coach, approached the Karnataka High Court seeking to quash the criminal proceedings. However, on February 19, the High Court refused to grant relief and allowed the investigation to continue.

Justice MG Uma of the High Court held that there was prima facie material indicating the commission of the alleged offenses, and thus, there was no ground to quash the proceedings.

Aggrieved by the decision, the appellants moved the Supreme Court, which has now stayed the proceedings and will hear the case next on April 16, 2025.

Senior Advocate CA Sundaram, along with Advocates Rohini Musa, Nipun Katyal, and Varun Joshi, appeared for the appellants. The petition was filed through Advocate-on-Record Badri Vishal.