[BREAKING] Saiby Jose Kidangoor resigns as Kerala High Court Advocates' Association President

Amidst controversy surrounding an alleged bribery scam, advocate Saiby Jose Kidangoor on Wednesday stepped down as President of the Kerala High Court Advocates' Association (KHCAA). .The resignation came days after the Kerala High Court refused to pass orders in a plea filed by Kidangoor to quash the first information registered against him by the Kerala Police for allegedly fleecing lakhs of rupees from his clients under the pretext of using the money to bribe judges of the Kerala High Court..According to a notice issued by the KHCAA, its Executive Committee considered the resignation letter submitted by Kidangoor earlier today and then unanimously decided to accept his resignation. .In his resignation letter, which he says he penned down with a "wounded heart", Kidangoor reiterated the stance he has maintained since the controversy came about - that the allegations are false and cooked up by some lawyers, who are also KHCAA members, who have some vendetta against him. The allegations have cast a blemish on the entire legal fraternity and justice delivery system, he said. He asserted that the "hollowness of the allegations and the conspiracy behind the entire episode would be exposed."However, he said that it would only be fair to demit the office of President of KHCAA till then."I firmly believe that my resignation would certainly help to spare the members of the Bar from being vexed and confronted with any unpleasant situation arising out of the whole scandal. Therefore, in the fitness of things, I am prompted to take this decision to relieve from all the responsibilities as the President of the Kerala High Court Advocates' Association," the resignation letter read..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 registered a first information report (FIR) against Kindangoor on February 1.Kidangoor was booked under Section 420 (cheating and dishonesty inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code which is a cognisable and non-bailable offence.He was also booked 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 indicated that there is substance to the allegations against Kidangoor, leading to the registration of a first information report (FIR) against him.Kidangoor subsequently approached the Kerala High Court with a plea to quash the FIR.However, the Court decided to ask the prosecutor to get instructions before even admitting the plea. It also refused to grant him any interim protection.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.