The Kerala High Court was recently informed by the State government that charges against Advocate Saiby Jose Kidangoor, accused of bribery allegations, are set to be dropped due to lack of evidence. Advocate Saiby had been implicated in a case of collecting money from clients under the pretext of bribing High Court judges. He had approached the High Court seeking to quash the FIR registered against him and to stay all further proceedings.
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The FIR against Advocate Saiby was registered at the Ernakulam Central Police Station, invoking offences under Section 7(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code, with the approval of the State Police Chief. However, the Public Prosecutor informed the Single Judge Bench of Justice K. Babu that the investigating agency had submitted a report stating that it would be dropping the charges and further action against Advocate Kidangoor, as no evidence was found against him.
The Court, however, directed that the investigation report be submitted for review.
“Learned PP submits that the investigating agency submitted report under the caption further action dropped. PP shall produce the copy of the final report,”
the Court stated.
The case against Advocate Saiby originated from a Facebook post by another lawyer, alleging that Kidangoor had been collecting large sums of money from clients, including celebrities, claiming he would use it to bribe several judges. This led to an initial inquiry by the High Court Registrar General, followed by a vigilance probe which found prima facie evidence against Kidangoor. The vigilance report was then forwarded to the Kerala Police, which initiated its investigation.
Despite the initial findings, a detailed probe by the Police revealed no evidence against Kidangoor. Advocate Saiby, in his plea, argued that the allegations were false and made by a group of lawyers with personal enmity towards him. He stated,
“A perusal of the entire allegations in the FIR shows that there are absolutely no ingredients to attract the sections either for committing any such offences either under Section 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act or Section 420 IPC. No cognizable offence is prima facie made out against the petitioner for investigating the matter, this matter falls under the rarest of the rare case where the petitioner was falsely implicated by a group of three or four lawyers and the police, and is therefore liable be quashed.”
The matter has been posted for further consideration on November 20, 2023. Advocate Saiby is represented by Senior Advocate S. Sreekumar, along with Advocates K. Anand, Babu S. Nair, M.R. Nandakumar, and Martin Jose P.
Case Title: Saiby Jose Kidangoor v. The State Police Chief & Ors. Case Number: WP(Crl.) 110/ 2023
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