The Supreme Court Monday quashed the FIR against badminton player Lakshya Sen, his family members, and his coach over allegations of fabricating the birth certificates of Sen and his brother.Granting the relief, a bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Aravind Kumar said that continuation of criminal proceedings in the matter would amount to an abuse of the process of the court.On February 19, 2025, the Karnataka High Court rejected the petitions by Sen, his family and coach, U Vimal Kumar, following which they approached the top court. Issuing notice in the matter, the SC had on February 25, 2025, stayed further proceedings in the matter.The complainant in this case, who runs a badminton academy, alleged in 2022 that Vimal Kumar, a badminton coach at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, colluded with the parents of Lakshya Sen and his brother and forged birth certificate documents in 2010 to allow their participation in tournaments restricted to specific age groups.The complainant alleged that birth certificates were fabricated to claim government benefits after participating in the tournaments. He produced certain documents obtained by way of RTI in support of his argument.In 2022, the police registered a case under sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), and 471 (using as genuine a forged record) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). However, the investigation was not concluded after the Karnataka High Court granted an interim stay.While refusing the petition to quash the proceedings against Sen and others, the HC observed that the authenticity of the documents produced before the court was not challenged.Story continues below this ad“When prima facie materials are placed on record which constitute the offences, I do not find any reason either to stall the investigation or to quash the initiation of criminal proceedings. There are sufficient materials that are placed before the Court by the complainant, which are the documents that were obtained under the Right to Information Act from the appropriate authority. Under such circumstances, I do not find any reason to entertain the petitions,” it said.Lakshya Sen, a former junior World No 1, has won medals at various international events, including the World Championships and Commonwealth Games, and is also a recipient of the Arjuna Award. His father D K Sen is also a badminton coach.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Lakshya Sen