Diljit Bachada

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

The respondent, admitted in 2001, was convicted on 20 July 2017 after trial of two counts of fraud by false representation and two counts of perverting the course of justice, arising from her creating and relying on false documents in a civil claim against an ex-employee and presenting false documentation to police. She was sentenced to 4 years 6 months imprisonment. The SRA brought allegations based on the conviction, breaching Principles 1, 2 and 6. By agreed outcome on the papers, the Tribunal struck her off the Roll and ordered costs of GBP 1,650.

Duties found breached:

• Integrity
• Serve justice and improve the law
• Uphold public trust in the profession

Aggravating factors:

• Commission of serious criminal offences leading to a substantial custodial sentence (4 years 6 months)
• Two offences (fraud by false representation) involved express findings of dishonesty
• Breaches took place over a period of time (over four and a half years)
• Misconduct she knew or ought to have known materially breached obligations to uphold the administration of justice and protect the reputation of the profession

Mitigating factors:

• Made early admissions in the proceedings
• Expressed wish to conclude the matter as soon as possible