The Kerala Police registered a first information report (FIR) against advocate and president of the Kerala High Court Advocates’ Association (KHCAA), Saiby Jose Kidangoor alleging that he fleeced large sums of money from his clients to bribe some judges of the Kerala High Court.
The Ernakulam Central Police Station registered the FIR against the High Court lawyer on February 1, after conducting a preliminary investigation over the previous few weeks.
Kidangoor has been charged under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (cheating and dishonesty inducing delivery of property), which is a cognizable and non-bailable offence.
He has also been charged under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which deals with public servants receiving gratification other than legal remuneration in exchange for performing an official act.
Kidangoor, who was only recently elected president of the KHCAA, has been embroiled in controversy since allegations levelled against him by his colleagues gained traction on social media.
A lawyer posted on Facebook that Kidangoor had been collecting large sums of money from some clients, including some celebrity clients, and that he intended to use it to bribe several judges, including Justice A Muhamed Mustaque, Justice PV Kunhikrishnan, and Justice Ziyad Rahman AA.
Following this, one of the judges, Justice PV Kunhikrishnan, requested that the High Court Registrar General investigate the allegations. The Registrar General submitted an initial report to Chief Justice S. Manikumar, who directed the High Court’s vigilance wing to launch an investigation.
The investigation by the vigilance wing uncovered prima facie evidence that Kidangoor stole money from his clients by claiming he would use it to bribe some judges.The report was then forwarded to Kerala Police, who began their own investigation.
According to a press release from the State Police, the preliminary investigation revealed that there is substance to the allegations against Kidangoor, prompting the filing of the FIR.
The complaint alleged that Kidangoor has sway over judges, vigilance officers, police, politicians and “underworld gangs in Kerala” and, therefore, some supervision by the Ministry on the probe is required.
