Kerala High Court denies anticipatory bail to fake lawyer Cessy Xavier

The Kerala High Court on Thursday declined to grant anticipatory bail to a woman who had allegedly practiced law for two years without a law degree (Cessy Xavier v. State of Kerala).Single judge Justice Shircy V directed the accused, Cessy Xavier to surrender to the authorities for any interrogation they may deem necessary..Advocate Roy Chacko, appearing for Xavier, had contended that only if custodial interrogation is indispensable or the crime alleged is a heinous one or there is a possibility of accused tampering with evidence or influencing witnesses, anticipatory bail can be denied. The emphasis should be on the personal liberty under Article 21 of an accused individual, he added.The Court had allowed Advocate Pramod, a member of the Alappuzha Bar Association, of which Xavier had been an elected office bearer, to be impleaded as an additional respondent in the case. Both Pramod and the Public Prosecutor had opposed the bail plea on the ground that some of the offences alleged are non bailable. Pertinently, they had contended that custodial interrogation is absolutely essential so as to gather more information regarding how Xavier procured the fake enrolment certificate and seal of the Bar Council. This is imperative to prevent such incidents from occurring again, they argued..Xavier made headlines in the state after being exposed for allegedly practicing law without a degree and enrolling with the Bar under a friend's credentials. Thereafter, the Alappuzha Bar Association conducted an investigation and swiftly cancelled her membership. The association had also registered a complaint with the police.A First Information Report was registered against Xavier for offences punishable under Sections Sections 417 (punishment for cheating) and 419 (punishment for cheating by personation) of Indian Penal Code, both of which are bailable offences.Subsequently, offences punishable under 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) was added which is a non bailable offenceDuring the a previous hearing of the case, the Public Prosecutor had informed the Court that offences punishable under Sections 465 (punishment for forgery) and 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating) were also added both of which are non bailable offences..[Read Order]