The Karnataka High Court has refused to cancel a cheating case against an advocate accused of collecting money from a murder accused's mother by allegedly claiming it would be used to bribe a judge (Image generated using AI).The Karnataka High Court Wednesday refused to cancel a cheating case against an advocate accused of taking money from a murder accused’s mother under the pretext of bribing a judge to secure bail.Dismissing the advocate’s petition, Justice M Nagaprasanna observed, “The allegation, if found to be true, would cut at the root of the integrity of the institution. Therefore, in such cases, investigation is a must as the question involved is institutional integrity.”The case stems from a complaint filed by the Registrar General of the High Court at the Vidhana Soudha police station in 2024. According to court records, one Theresa was attempting to secure bail for her son, V Vishnu Devan, who was arrested in 2021 in connection with a murder case.Theresa initially met a woman named Marina Fernandes near the Mayo Hall Court in Bengaluru, who allegedly demanded Rs 10 lakh to secure Devan’s release. When her son remained behind bars despite the payment, Fernandes issued three cheques to refund the money and introduced Theresa to another woman, Aarathi.Aarathi claimed to be close to the presiding judge and extracted Rs 72,000, but failed to secure bail. Theresa was then introduced to the petitioner, advocate Dayeena Baanu, who allegedly conveyed that a substantial amount would need to be paid directly to a High Court judge to obtain a favourable bail order.Following these demands, Theresa filed a complaint with the Bar Council against Fernandes and Aarathi, and also sent a letter to the High Court on December 18, 2024, detailing Baanu’s bribe demands. A coordinate bench took suo motu cognisable note of the matter and directed the registration of a criminal case against Baanu.Senior advocate Hasmath Pasha, representing Baanu, argued before the High Court that his client was already facing proceedings before the Bar Council of India and contended that the allegations did not constitute the basic legal ingredients of cheating.Story continues below this adOpposing the plea, State Public Prosecutor B N Jagadeesha submitted that the investigation had been stayed via an interim order immediately after the FIR was registered. He argued that allowing litigants to openly discuss bribing judges unchecked would inflict grave damage on judicial integrity.Addressing the legal arguments, Justice Nagaprasanna noted that traditional interpretations of the offence of cheating must adapt to modern circumstances. “The inducement and release of property is clearly made out in the case at hand as the mother of Vishnu Devan is induced into parting with money for the purpose of arranging bail to her son, which ostensibly would be with a dishonest intention right from the inception,” the court held.Emphasising that the matter extends beyond individual wrongdoing, the High Court concluded, “The offence of cheating allegedly committed by an individual in normal circumstances becomes an institutional concern when such cases are projected. Therefore, there can be no question of interdiction of investigation on any ground whatsoever.”