Accidental bigamy fears as judge cancels 21 divorces

Disgraced ex-barrister’s petition fraud means separated couples are technically still married

COUPLES may accidentally be comitting bigamy, a senior judge suggested, as he cancelled 21 divorces organised by a disgraced former barrister. Sir James Munby, president of the High Court’s family division, said Khalik Bhatoo had used false addresses on divorce petitions and had forged signatures and filled out forms on at least nine of them. The judge said the couples were technically still married – even if they had remarried and had children with someone else.

The case, brought by the Queen’s Proctor, who can intervene in cases of divorce or probate where dishonesty is suspected, also means that any later marriages would be null and void. Sir James said: “Underlying proceedings were tainted by deception in relation to the address of either the petitioner or the respondent, and the decrees, where decrees have been granted, were obtained by deception.”

Bhatoo, whom Sir James described as “the architect of these frauds”, was called to the bar in 1999 and disbarred in 2006 after being convicted of falsely claiming housing benefit and council tax. He was also found guilty of three offences of professional misconduct.

The court heard that he had told the 21 couples that they should fraudulently use one of two addresses on the divorce petition, and had used a Chancery Lane chambers that no longer exists on some of the papers.

The two properties, on West End Road in Southall, west London, were at the time owned by family members or associates of Bhatoo, the court heard.

One of the women involved, Asma Bi, told the court in a statement that Mr Bhatoo had “told her to put down… West End Road as her address, notwithstanding that she did not live there, as he would then be able to deal with the court and paperwork and would not need to keep bothering her.”

Ms Bi also said that she did not recognise the signature used.

“The signature on the divorce petition does not appear to be my signature, she said. I do not recall signing it.

“I always sign in capital letters and the divorce petition is signed in lower case. I attach a copy of my passport… and my photocard driving licence … to confirm my signature,” she said.

A handwriting expert examined the divorce documents and concluded that Bhatoo’s writing appeared on both the applicants’ and petitioners’ documents in at least nine of the 21 cases.

The cases, which dated from 2006 to 2015, were at various stages of completion, with some only at the petition stage, while others had been finalised. 20 were marriages, while one was a civil partnership.

Under the law, someone can have a defence to bigamy if they genuinely believed they were free to remarry.