The State Government, on Thursday, informed the Kerala High Court that it has granted sanction for the prosecution of ex-officials facing corruption charges in a case related to the Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC). The Director General of Prosecution (DGP) sought additional time to ensure the accuracy of the order. Justice A Badharudeen directed the government to produce the order and posted the case for July 8.
The HC considered the contempt plea filed by Kadakampally Manoj against IAS officer Mohammed Hanish after he had issued orders denying prosecution nod in the case. The HC had cancelled the government orders, denying nod for prosecution, thrice. The case pertains to the alleged embezzlement of funds to the tune of ₹600 crore in connection with the import of raw cashew between 2006 and 2015.
Following its investigation, the CBI, in 2020, had sought the state government’s sanction under the Prevention of Corruption Act to prosecute the accused. The government, however, refused to grant the sanction.
The CBI subsequently filed a charge sheet before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court in Thiruvananthapuram under criminal law. The accused challenged the proceedings, taking the matter from the CJM Court to the Supreme Court. The apex court upheld the continuation of the prosecution, holding that the allegations warranted a criminal trial.
In April 2026, the HC upheld the contempt petition against Mohammed Hanish, then Additional Chief Secretary of the Industries Department, and directed him to be present in the court on May 18. The HC also ordered that steps shall be taken to prosecute the accused – K A Ratheesh and R Chandrasekharan, who were the Managing Director and Chairman respectively.
After Hanish repeatedly failed to appear before the court, the single bench hearing the case issued a stern warning and directed the newly appointed Industries Secretary, K Biju, to take a decision on the prosecution sanction by July 2, failing which contempt proceedings would be initiated.
Hanish later appeared before the court in person and tendered an unconditional apology. Meanwhile former KSCDC Chairman R Chandrasekharan, on Thursday, said the decisions under scrutiny were taken unanimously by the corporation’s board and therefore could not be attributed to any single individual, including the Managing Director or the Chairman. “The board consists of representatives from four trade unions, two secretaries of the Kerala government and two or three political nominees. All the decisions were made unanimously by the board,” Chandrasekharan told the media.
