Kochi: High court on Friday severely pulled up industries department secretary A P M Mohammed Hanish for failing to appear before it in compliance with its earlier directive in a contempt case linked to the Cashew Development Corporation graft case.
The bench of Justice A Badharudeen warned Hanish that it would be compelled to issue an arrest warrant and have him detained to secure his personal appearance. “Don’t play tactics before the court. Otherwise, the matter will be viewed seriously,” HC orally observed. Meanwhile, the special govt pleader appearing for Hanish submitted that his absence was due to his engagement with the presentation of the state budget on Friday. She further sought one more opportunity for Hanish to appear in person before court.
Taking note of the submission, HC directed Hanish to appear before it on June 22, making it clear that this would be the last opportunity.
Additionally, HC allowed the impleadment of forest and cashew department secretary Biju K, who is now the sanctioning authority for prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act in matters relating to the Cashew Corporation. HC further clarified that no additional time could be granted for issuing prosecution sanction to the CBI in the graft case involving the Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC). Accordingly, HC directed Biju K to comply with the earlier order and issue the prosecution sanction by July 9. If he fails to comply with the directive, contempt proceedings would also be initiated against him.
The contempt case arose after Hanish repeatedly refused to grant prosecution sanction to the CBI despite HC directions in a graft case alleging large-scale corruption in the import and purchase of cashews by KSCDC. Following its investigation, the CBI 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 agency repeatedly sought prosecution sanction from the state industries department, but its requests were rejected, leading to the present contempt petition.
