Akanksha Singh –
Published On: September 17, 2021, at 12:30 IST
The Kerala High Court refused to grant Anticipatory Bail to a Woman accused of practising law for two years without a law degree.
Sessy Xavier, the accused, has been ordered by a Single Judge, Justice Shircy V, to surrender before the authorities for the interrogation they consider necessary.
Advocate Roy Chacko, appearing for Xavier, argued that “Anticipatory Bail can be denied only if custodial interrogation is unavoidable or the alleged offense is a heinous offense or the accused is likely to tamper with evidence or influence witnesses.”
Chacko also contended that the personal liberty of the accused person under Article 21 should be emphasized.
The Court further allowed Advocate Pramod, a member of the Alappuzha Bar Association, to appear as an additional Respondent in the case, of which Xavier was an elected office-bearer.
By opposing the Pre-Arrest Bail, Advocate Pramod and the Public Prosecutor stated 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 attracted State attention after she managed to practice as an advocate after enrolling in the State Bar Council without qualifying for the LLB degree.
After that, the Alappuzha Bar Association conducted an inquiry and immediately cancelled her membership and also filed a Police complaint against her.
A First Information Report (FIR) was filed against Xavier for offenses punishable U/S 417 and U/S 419 (punishment for cheating , punishment for cheating by impersonation) of the Indian Penal Code, both of which are Bailable Offences.
Subsequently, Section 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), Sections 465 (punishment for forgery) and Section 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating) of IPC were also added in the FIR , which are non-Bailable.
Also Read: Fake Lawyer moves Kerala High Court seeking Anticipatory Bail