FIR Registered Following Court Order
Mumbai: Marine Drive police have registered an FIR against renowned cardiologist Dr. Lekha Pathak for alleged cheating, forgery, and multiple other offences under the erstwhile Indian Penal Code. She is accused of unlawfully receiving the pension of late Ramrao Adik, a former deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, by falsely claiming to be his widow.
The FIR was lodged on March 1, 2025, following an order by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate K. S. Zanwar at Esplanade Court on February 14. The case was filed based on a private complaint by Adik’s son, Prithviraj Adik, 73, who alleged that Dr. Pathak received his father’s pension despite never being legally married to him.
Family Challenges Doctor’s Claim
According to the complaint, Adik, a well-known lawyer and former member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, passed away in 2007 at the age of 78. Dr. Pathak, who had been in a live-in relationship with him since 1995, allegedly claimed the pension as his widow.
Prithviraj argued that his mother, Shobha Adik, whom Adik legally married in 1948, was the rightful recipient of the pension. He further alleged that in 2021, Shobha wrote to the state government to verify her entitlement to the pension and was informed in August 2021 that it had been awarded to Dr. Pathak.
RTI Findings and Legal Action
Shobha Adik then filed an RTI application through an advocate regarding the pension details. However, she passed away in January 2022 before receiving a response. Prithviraj continued the inquiry and, in September 2023, obtained RTI documents from the Maharashtra Legislative Council. The documents allegedly revealed that Dr. Pathak had claimed she married Adik in 1962 and had two sons, Suresh and Prithviraj.
The complainant refuted these claims, stating that neither he nor his brother were her sons, nor did they live with her, as suggested in the pension documents. Additionally, his lawyer, Pandurang Pol, highlighted that the alleged age difference between Dr. Pathak and Adik’s eldest son was only five years, raising further doubts about her claims.
When police did not act on his initial complaint filed on November 1, 2023, Prithviraj approached the Esplanade court with a private complaint. The court, under Section 156(3) of CrPC, found the complaint credible and ordered an FIR to be registered.
When contacted by the media, Dr. Pathak stated, “I am not aware of anything.” The investigation into the case is ongoing.
