"Why are you afraid? Face investigation, prove your innocence": Kerala High Court to advocate Saiby Jose Kidangoor

The Kerala High Court on Monday refused to pass order quashing the First Information Report (FIR) registered against Kerala High Court Advocates Association (KHCAA) President Saiby Jose Kidangoor in connection with a bribery scam [Saiby Jose Kidangoor v State Police Chief]..Justice Kauser Edappagath said the plea was premature and asked the bar president why he was attempting to quash the FIR instead of proving his innocence by letting the law take its course"Let the Police find out the truth!!! This is premature. If ultimately the police dont get any material against you, then of course, the case against you won't stand," the Court reasoned. .The judge observed that the allegations were of a very serious nature, and were maligning the entire judicial system. "Now, even going by your writ petition, a preliminary investigation was conducted by High Court Vigilance Wing and then by the Police. The Police felt that registering an FIR was necessary. Further probe has started and on the next day you rush to court?", he asked. .The single-judge further stated that Kidangoor was an officer of the court and an office bearer of a responsible association, the KHCAA. Therefore, it was his responsibility to prove his innocence and remove any shadow that has been cast on the entire justice delivery system. "Let the truth come out. Why should we shut down the investigation. For the truth to come out investigation must happen.".With these observations, the case was adjourned by a week. The plea was, however, neither admitted nor dismissed..Kidangoor, who was only recently elected as the president of the KHCAA has been embroiled in controversy since the allegations made against him by his fellow lawyers started gaining momentum on social media.A lawyer put up a Facebook post in which he said that Kidangoor had been collecting large sums of money from some clients, including some celebrity clients, saying that he would use it to bribe several judges, including Justices A Muhamed Mustaque, PV Kunhikrishnan, Ziyad Rahman AA.Following the same, one of the judges Justice PV Kunhikrishnan, asked the High Court Registrar General to look into the allegations.The Registrar General furnished an initial report that he sent to the Chief Justice who in turn directed the vigilance wing of the High Court to initiate an enquiry.The vigilance wing's probe found prima facie evidence that Kidangoor had taken money from his clients by saying that he would use it to bribe some judges.The vigilance report was sent to the Kerala Police that in turn initiated its own investigation.After conducting a preliminary enquiry over the last couple of weeks, the Ernakulam Central Police Station had registered a first information report (FIR) against Kindangoor on February 1.Kidangoor has been charged under Section 420 (cheating and dishonesty inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code which is a cognisable and non-bailable offence.He has also been charged under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act which deals with the offence of public servants taking gratification other than the legal remuneration in respect of an official act.According to a press release from the State Police, the initial investigation has indicated that there is substance to the allegations against Kidangoor, leading to the registration of the FIR.Just this Monday, the Bar Council of Kerala (BCK) initiated suo motu proceedings and issued a show cause notice to Kidangoor after an emergency meeting that it had convened..During the hearing today, Senior Advocate S Sreekumar appearing for Kidangoor argued that if this was allowed, tomorrow any noted advocate or officer of the court could be made a scapegoat in the same way."Now the preliminary enquiry report is not with your lordship. We also don't have access to it. My request is that my lord may get the report in a sealed cover and view it," he submitted.He also urged the court to prevent the police from taking any coercive steps. However, this plea was also rejected by the court..[Read our live-coverage of the hearing below]