A FORMER president of the Law Society has been charged by the police with creating a false identity and forging a passport to support a disciplinary investigation into his deputy.

Robert Sayer is accused of sending an e-mail as Thomas Fernando to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, to complain about Kamlesh Bahl, the former vice-president.

When the veracity of the e-mail was challenged, Mr Sayer created a copy of a false passport to show that Mr Fernando was genuine, court papers allege.

Mr Sayer, 54, has engaged in an on-off five-year legal battle with Ms Bahl, 49, that has drawn in figures such as Cherie Booth, QC, and has cost the Law Society more than £3 million in legal fees.

He is due to appear on April 13 at Bow Street Magistrates’ Court, Central London, where he will face four charges and be expected to enter a plea. He has failed to turn up at two previous hearings.

Roy Morgan said that he was seeking to get the case dropped because of his client’s illness. “He is suffering from a complex post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the build up of events surrounding Kamlesh Bahl and these proceedings. He is unable to talk about the events that have led to the build up.

“Any sort of trigger that resurrects recollection of what has gone on — or if it is discussed — causes a major problem. We have provided the prosecution with several medical reports and we hope . . . that the prosecution sees fit to reconsider whether they should proceed or not,” he said.

The charges against Mr Sayer centre on correspondence sent to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, the lawyers’ formal disciplinary body. Mr Fernando’s e-mail, sent in October 2002, claimed that Ms Bahl, a solicitor, should be struck off for bullying staff at the Law Society and lying under oath. The tribunal has power to strike off a solicitor or suspend them from practice.

Ms Bahl, a former chairwoman of the Equal Opportunities Commission, was poised to become the first Asian president of the Law Society when five of her staff accused her of bullying.

She was forced to stand down in 2000 after the society — which represents all 85,000 solicitors in England and Wales — voted to suspend her after the allegations.

Ms Bahl made a successful claim of racial and sex discrimination against Mr Sayer and the society in 2001, although this was overturned on appeal after a two-year legal battle.

At a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal hearing in August 2003, Ms Bahl claimed that Mr Fernando’s complaint was false and challenged those behind it to come forward.

Ms Bahl then asked the tribunal to refer the matter to the police, but her request was turned down on the ground that this was outside the tribunal’s jurisdiction.

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