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Kerala HC rejects plea to dismiss financial fraud case
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The Kerala High Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by the accused, including mentalist Adarsh Kolladath, to quash the first information report (FIR) registered at the Ernakulam Central police station in a case of financial fraud worth ₹35 lakh.Mr. Kolladath, director Jis Joy, Midhun, and Arun are the four accused in the case in which a 56-year-old resident of Marine Drive, Kochi, was allegedly cheated by the accused by refusing to return the money he had invested in Mr. Kolladath’s show ‘Insomnia’. Mr. Joy was the director of the show, while Mr. Midhun and Mr. Arun were the co-producers.The petitioners contended that the dispute between the accused and the complainant had been resolved. However, the complainant informed the court that he was not ready for a settlement.Mr. Kolladath, along with the other accused, allegedly promised a profit of one-third on investments in the mentalism show. According to the FIR, the complainant transferred the money to Mr. Kolladath from his and his wife’s accounts in July 2025, and when he asked for the money to be returned, the accused allegedly refused to pay and ridiculed him. Dismissing the petition to quash the order, the court held that the petitioners could seek other remedies to resolve the issue. Published - June 27, 2026 12:55 am IST
image for representation | While Deputy Mayor G.S. Ashanath and councillor R. Vinod took their oath in January in the name of Bharath Matha, some of the councillors took oath in the name of ‘balidaanis’ (martyrs in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh parlance). Several of them took oath in the name of Sree Padmanabhaswamy, while a few opted for ‘Attukal Amma’. Some chose to take oath in the name of their local deities, like Thiruvallam councillor Gopakumar who took oath in the name of Thiruvallam Parasuraman, Kamaleswaram councillor V. Giri in the name of Irumkulangara Durga Bhagavathi, Pangode councillor Vishnu Mohan in the name of Udiyannoor Devi. Valiyasala councillor V.S. Soorya took oath in the name of ‘Kaavilamma’.The situation is even more concerning for the BJP as one among the 20 councillors is R. Sugathan, who was arrested under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA), and currently lodged at the high-security correctional facility at Viyyur Central Prison in Thrissur. With over 19 criminal cases, including several serious charges such as attempted murder, it remains to be seen whether he will be able to retake his oath within the next four weeks. Mr. Sugathan had taken his oath in the name of ‘Gurudevan’.Both the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) have been demanding his removal from the council.LDF council party leader S.P. Deepak had moved the petition against the 20 BJP councillors, demanding their disqualification. Published - June 24, 2026 01:56 pm IST
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