Advocate Saiby Jose Kidangoor on Tuesday informed the Kerala High Court that the bribery allegations were made up by other lawyers who have a grudge against him.
Justice Kauser Edappagath took note of Senior Advocate S Sreekumar’s submission in this regard, who is currently representing Kidangoor.
“Learned senior counsel for the petitioner, Sri. S Sreekumar submits that the petitioner is ready to appear before the investigating officer and cooperate with the investigation. The learned senior counsel further submits that the investigating agency may also conduct investigation into the allegations levelled by the petitioner that there is a conspiracy behind filing the complaint against him,” the Court stated in its order.
After Kidangoor stated that he was willing to cooperate with the investigation, Justice Edappagath orally advised him to do so so that the truth of the matter could be revealed.
“You also co-operate with the investigation. Let the truth come out. It is beneficial to you as well,” the judge stated.
Kidangoor, has been embroiled in controversy since the allegations made against him by his fellow lawyers started gaining momentum on social media.
A lawyer posted on Facebook that Kidangoor had been collecting large sums of money from clients, including some celebrity clients, with the intention of bribing several judges, including Justice A Muhamed Mustaque, Justice PV Kunhikrishnan, and Justice Ziyad Rahman AA.
During the previous hearing of the matter, Justice Edappagath had refused to grant him any interim relief.
The public prosecutor presented a copy of the preliminary investigation report conducted by the Commissioner of Police, Ernakulam, at today’s hearing. It was stated that the investigation is in its early stages.
Advocate Sreekumar argued that the report contains no evidence implicating Kidangoor. He also claimed that the allegations against Kidangoor were made by a group of lawyers who harboured grudges against him.
The Court recorded this submission and directed Kidangoor to appear before the investigating officer as and when required and co-operate with the investigation.
Last week, Kidangoor resigned as President of the Kerala High Court Advocates’ Association. He had only been elected to the position in mid-December, just before the allegations against him surfaced.
The matter was set up for hearing again after two weeks.
