KOCHI: Advocate Saiby Jose Kidangoor who was accused of bribing High Court judges to obtain favourable verdicts got a clean chit after the crime branch investigation team filed a report at the Muvattupuzha Vigilance Court dropping charges against the lawyer.
The CB proceedings were closed after the special investigation team (SIT) constituted to probe the case failed to find any evidence against the former president of Kerala High Court Advocates’ Association (KHCAA).
The report was filed by Kottayam crime branch SP K L Johnkutty. The officer confirmed that a report on closure of investigation against Saiby was filed before the Vigilance Court. He said that all allegations against the lawyer were probed.
“During the investigation, we could not find any evidence substantiating the allegations against Saiby. The report recommends dropping the investigation against the lawyer. The court will decide on further steps to be taken,” he said.
In January this year, the High Court Vigilance wing came out with a detailed report that Saiby allegedly collected money from clients on the pretext of bribing judges. Later, Kochi City Police Commissioner K Sethuraman conducted a preliminary probe which found that a case can be registered against the lawyer. Based on the preliminary probe report, an FIR was registered. The case was first probed by Alappuzha Crime Branch SP K S Sudarshan. After Sudarshan was transferred to the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, K L Josekutty was tasked with the investigation.
Cheranalloor police had registered a second case against Saiby following a complaint filed by Basil, a Kothamangalam native. Basil alleged that Saiby had demanded Rs 10 lakh from him to withdraw a case filed by his wife against him.