Kochi, June 15:
The Kerala High Court on Monday refused to grant relief to Industries Department Additional Chief Secretary Mohammed Hanish in a contempt of court case linked to the alleged Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation corruption scandal, directing him to appear personally before a Single Bench later this week.
A Division Bench dismissed Hanish’s petition challenging an earlier order that required his personal appearance in the contempt proceedings. The court directed him to be present before the Single Bench on Friday and made sharp observations while rejecting his plea.
The case stems from allegations that the state government failed to comply with an earlier High Court order concerning the prosecution of officials implicated in the controversial raw cashew import deal. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had reportedly found irregularities involving nearly Rs 500 crore in the import of raw cashew nuts from abroad.
Based on the findings of the probe, the High Court had earlier directed the government to consider granting sanction for the prosecution of Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation Chairman R. Chandrasekhar and the corporation’s Managing Director, IAS officer K.A. Ratheesh.
Contempt proceedings were subsequently initiated against Hanish for allegedly failing to implement the court’s directions in the matter.
During the hearing, Hanish argued that he could not conclude that corruption had taken place as there was insufficient evidence to support such a finding. However, the Division Bench questioned how a senior government official could arrive at such a conclusion when a CBI investigation and judicial findings had already pointed to serious irregularities.
The court also asked how it was possible to claim that no corruption had occurred in a case where a central investigating agency had reportedly identified substantial financial misconduct.
With the Division Bench declining to interfere, the matter will now return to the Single Bench, where Hanish has been ordered to appear in person as the contempt proceedings continue.
