Asolicitor who lied about having cancer in a leave request to his firm has been struck off the roll by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
While in practice as a solicitor at Reed Smith, Soham Nitin Panchamiya was alleged to have, between September 2023 and November 2023, falsely claimed to the firm that he had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment.
He was also alleged to have provided the firm with a falsified medical report concerning his purported cancer diagnosis and treatment, and his ability to work.
Panchamiya admitted the allegations against him, including that his conduct was dishonest.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal heard that Panchamiya, admitted in 2017, emailed his line manager asking for a week off as annual leave and stating his ‘cancer is back’. In a later phone call to HR, he said he was undergoing preventative chemotherapy treatment for spine cancer.
After being asked for a medical certificate, Panchamiya initially told the firm he had stopped treatment, was ‘all good’ and no further action was needed. Eventually he sent a medical certificate, but inconsistencies with the document led the firm to seek out confirmation of its authenticity with the doctor, who said it was not. Panchamiya was suspended by the firm.
