Saiby Jose Kidangoor is currently in the Kerala Police’s eye for investigation, over allegations of a bribery scam to fleece clients under the pretext of using it to bribe several High Court Judges.
Amid several controversies, Advocate Saiby Jose Kidangoor is surrounded by allegations upon him, of a bribery scam. He stepped down as the President of the Kerala High Court Advocates’ Association (KHCAA) on Wednesday.
A Few days back, the Kerala High Court refused to pass orders in a plea filed by Kidangoor to quash the first information registered against him by the Kerala Police, on fleecing lakhs of rupees from his clients under the pretext of using the money to bribe the judges of the Kerala High Court. Kidangoor’s resignation came days after this action of the Kerala HC.
According to a notice issued by the KHCAA, the Executive Committee considered the resignation letter submitted by Kidangoor and unanimously decided to accept his resignation.
Adv. Kidangoor expressed a ‘wounded heart’ in his resignation letter. He kept up with the stance since the allegations against him that they were false and cooked up by some lawyers, constituting the KHCAA, who have some grudges and vendetta against him.
He said that the allegations have stamped a blemish on the entire legal domain and justice delivery system. He emphasized the ‘hollowness’ of the allegations and said that the entire cooked-up conspiracy would be exposed. He believed that it would only be fair to give up on the position of the President of KHCAA till then.
His resignation letter read “I firmly believe that my resignation would certainly help to spare the members of the Bar from being vexed and confronted with any unpleasant situation arising out of the whole scandal. Therefore, in the fitness of the things, I am prompted to take this decision to relieve from all the responsibilities as the President of the Kerala High Court Advocates’ Association.”
Advocate Saiby Jose Kidangoor was recently elected as the President of the KHCAA, and was cemented in a controversy, burdened with allegations against him by his fellow lawyers, which started gaining momentum through social media.
It was found on a Facebook post put up by a lawyer stating that Kidangoor has been collecting large sums of money from his clients, including some celebrity clients saying that he would utilize it to bribe various judges including Justices A Muhammed Mustaque, PV Kunhikrishnan, Ziyad Rahman AA.
The report drafted by the Register General was sent to the Chief Justice, the vigilance wing, then to the Kerala Police, which took up the investigation.
Post the inquiry, the Ernakulam Central Police Station registered an FIR against Kidangoor on February 1.
He was booked under Section 420 of IPC for cheating and dishonesty inducing the delivery of property, which is a cognizable and non-bailable offense. He was also booked under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The initial investigation had indicated that there is a substance to the allegations against Kidangoor, which led to the registration of an FIR against him.
He then approached the Kerala HC with a plea to quash the FIR. The Court however decided to ask the prosecutor to get instructions before admitting the plea and refused to grant him any interim protection.
Justice Kauser Edapaggath declared the plea premature. He questioned the President why he attempted to quash the FIR rather than proving his innocence by law.
The Court then stated that “Let the Police find out the truth! This is premature. If ultimately the police don’t get any material against you, then, of course, the case against you would not stand.”
Also read: BOMBAY HC IMPOSES RS 3 LAKH COSTS ON LITIGANTS WHO TOOK ‘UNCONSCIONABLE AMOUNT’ OF THE COURT’S TIME
