‘Govt moving along with the corrupt’; why protecting them, asks high court?

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court harshly criticized the government over the corruption in Cashew Development Corporation. The government is moving along with the corrupted. Justice A Badharudeen said the government is adopting a contempt of court stand.

The government prosecution had not given permission to the CBI to cross examine former chairman of the corporation R Chandrasekharan and former MD of the Cashew Development Corporation K A Ratheesh. The government had denied permission thrice. In this situation, the court was considering the plea filed by Kadakampally Manoj seeking continuation of contempt of court proceedings against the principal secretary of the industries department.

‘The government is taking a stand against the court. The government is moving along with the corrupted. Why protecting these individuals? Who is behind this? The Left government came to power saying that they would not commit corruption. However, it is clear that the government is protecting the corrupt. This is a pathetic situation,' criticized the court. The court also directed that an explanation be given in the case within a week.

The case is that there was a corruption of crores in the import of raw cashew nuts by the Cashew Development Corporation between 2006-2015. R Chandrasekharan and K A Ratheesh are the main accused in the case. The CBI took over the investigation in the case in 2016 as per the directive of the high court. The prosecution had denied permission thrice between 2020 and 2025. Principal secretary of the industries department, Muhammad Haneesh, denied permission for prosecution, citing that the CBI had not been able to find anything other than procedural lapses.