Kochi, Jul 15 The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the state government to forward to the CBI the order granting sanction to prosecute KSCDC officials in a 2015 corruption case.
Justice A Badharudeen directed Cashew Department Secretary K Biju to forward the sanction order to the CBI during the day itself, without fail, after the agency claimed it had not received it.
The agency had sought sanction to prosecute several former Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation officials, including its former chairman and senior INTUC leader R Chandrasekharan.
The court also said it would decide later whether to accept the unconditional apology tendered by Biju in connection with an earlier sanction order, the content of which was "contemptuous."
It listed the matter for July 17.
Biju, in his apology, had said it was never his intention to "diminish or undermine" the authority of the court.
He had admitted that the language of the earlier July 2 sanction order was inappropriate, and that its contents were capable of giving the impression that the government was taking the action without applying its mind, and only on the directions of the court.
The bureaucrat had tendered the apology after the court issued a contempt notice to him.
The government had subsequently issued a fresh sanction order on July 6. However, the CBI on Wednesday claimed it had not yet received the order.
The court was hearing a contempt petition filed by Kollam native Kadakampally Manoj, alleging non-compliance with court directions regarding the grant of sanction to the CBI to prosecute KSCDC officials in the graft case.
The corruption case dates back to 2015, when the CBI registered a case into alleged irregularities in the KSCDC, following directions from the High Court.
After completing its investigation, the agency sought sanction from the state government to prosecute the accused.
Subsequently, Manoj approached the court seeking implementation of its directions to grant prosecution sanction to the CBI.
