Kochi: An advocate and a film producer facing a sexual abuse case are now the subjects of police investigation following the intervention of the High Court over alleged bid to bribe three of its judges.
A team led by the Kochi Police Commissioner is conducting a preliminary investigation into the charges based on the direction of the Director General of Police (DGP) after the High Court Registrar shot off a letter calling for a probe against advocate Saiby Jose Kidangoor, who was recently elected as the president of the Kerala High Court Advocates Association.
As part of this, the cops recorded statements of the film producer, who is also accused of giving the kickbacks, on Tuesday. The police team is expected to question the accused lawyer on Wednesday.
Earlier, the High Court Vigilance Registrar reported that there is preliminary evidence to believe that Adv Saiby received money from his clients apparently for paying bribes to High Court judges and there are statements by advocates to the effect that he received money in the name of three judges.
The High Court Vigilance conducted an inquiry after a High Court judge intimated secretly about it and the High Court Chief Justice directed to investigate last November.
The Vigilance Registrar report says "Certain advocates have stated that the said advocate received the money in the guise of paying bribes to High Court judges Justice P V Kunhikrishnan, Justice A Muhammed Mushtaq, and Justice A A Ziyad Rahman. Certain advocates have also deposed that there have been attempts to defame and threaten them for telling others about this information. The advocates also claimed that they had heard the said advocate had received Rs 25 lakh from his client in the name of Justice Kunhikrishnan and Rs 2 lakh in the name of Justice Muhammed Mushtaq and Rs 50 lakh in the name of Justice Ziyad Rahman. One advocate stated that a film producer involved in a sexual abuse case had told him about the transaction."
The report also says that the allegation of an advocate receiving money from the clients in the name of giving it to the judges comes within the ambit of violation of the official code of conduct. Such acts amount to interference in the judicial process and impede justice delivery.
Whether the issue should be intimated to the Bar Council and whether contempt of court proceedings should be initiated should also be considered while considering the matter, the reports further says.