Contempt plea: Kerala HC relief for industries dept secretary in Cashew Corp graft case

Kochi: A high court bench of Justice A Badharudeen on Monday deferred the personal appearance of industries department principal secretary A P M Muhammed Hanish before the court till June 1 in a contempt case linked to the Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC) graft case.

The contempt petition filed by Kadakampally Manoj of Kollam alleged that Hanish had wilfully refused to grant prosecution sanction to CBI in the cashew corporation graft case despite earlier court directives. The order was passed after HC noted that an appeal preferred by Hanish was pending before a division bench, in which he had questioned the maintainability of the appeal filed by the state govt on his behalf in the contempt case. The single bench further clarified that if Hanish does not obtain a stay order in the appeal by June 1, he shall be personally present before HC on that day.

The case stems from allegations of large-scale corruption in the import and purchase of cashews by KSCDC. Acting on Manoj’s petition, HC had earlier directed CBI to investigate the allegations.

Following the probe, the agency named former KSCDC chairman and INTUC state president R Chandrasekharan, former managing director K A Ratheesh, and two others as accused. Before filing its final report, the CBI sought prosecution sanction from the industries department under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The request was allegedly rejected multiple times despite HC’s directions, leading to the contempt plea.