Abraham Verghese

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

Abraham Verghese, an assistant solicitor, was dismissed for gross misconduct after attending his employer's office drunk and being abusive on the telephone to another solicitor. In his subsequent Employment Tribunal claim he confirmed on oath that his witness statement (denying a telephone call took place) was true, then admitted under cross-examination that it was untrue and that he had lied to the Tribunal. The SDT found both allegations proved, including an express finding of dishonesty under the Twinsectra/Bryant tests. He did not attend (being unable to leave India) and adjournment applications were refused. He was struck off the Roll and ordered to pay costs of £16,732.26.

Duties found breached:

• No conflict between current clients
• Uphold public trust in the profession

Aggravating factors:

• Lied on oath before an Employment Tribunal
• Solicitor and officer of the court who prepared a false statement
• Failed to correct false statement because he did not wish to create a bad impression with the Tribunal
• Failed to engage with the disciplinary proceedings over a substantial period

Mitigating factors:

• Respondent on state pension benefits with limited means
• History of alcoholism for which he had received treatment