The defiant tone of the government’s order granting a nod to prosecute the accused officials in the cashew import scam may lead to another round of face-off between the High Court and the Kerala bureaucrats.

The government was forced to issue a prosecution nod following contempt proceedings against Mohammed Hanish, Principal Secretary, Industries (Cashew). It was only after sternly worded reminders and warnings of possible arrest by the High Court that Hanish appeared before the HC and offered an unconditional apology. As contempt proceedings loomed over the officials concerned, the government, on Wednesday, issued the order to prosecute the ex-officials of Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC).

Even then, Advocate General K Jaju Babu sought time to ensure the accuracy of the order on Thursday, perhaps sensing the problematic tone of the order issued by K Biju, Secretary, Forest and Cashew Department. Strangely, while the AG requested the court to grant more time for the production of order, one of the accused R Chandrasekharan, former chairman, read out the content of the order on Thursday in a press meet held in Thiruvananthapuram. This has also raised questions on how an order, which ought to be produced before the High Court on July 8, was accessed by the accused person in the case.

In the order, which has now surfaced, IAS officer Biju doesn't mince words to express how the department has been coerced by the High Court to issue the prosecution sanction. "The orders of the High Court caveating direction to the government to accord prosecution sanction have entered the domain of the prosecution authority," notes the order.

According to K Biju, the HC order is a direction to the government to abdicate its application of mind and follow merely the court orders.

The order further notes that the HC has assumed the role of a trial court in having assessed the evidence in the case and the government is constrained to accord the prosecution sanction. The government has been forced to be in compliance of the orders in the contempt petition without any application of mind, Biju notes in the order.

The order also gives clear indication that the government will challenge the HC directive. "The government has deemed it fit to accord prosecution sanction, however, with rights to file the appeal," says the order.

Petitioner in the case, Kadakampally Manoj, told Onmanorama that it was a clear sign of challenge against the HC. "How can you word an order like this, it is defiant and that's why the AG wanted to scrutinise the order," he said.

The prosecution nod has been issued against K A Ratheesh, former Managing Director, KSCDC, R Chandrasekharan, former chairman, and Jaimon Joseph, proprietor, JMJ Traders, Kottayam.

A CBI investigation revealed serious irregularities and corruption in the procurement of raw cashew nuts from foreign countries during 2006-2015. Chandrasekharan and Ratheesh dishonestly awarded tenders to the private firm in Kottayam with the intention of cheating KSCDC and resulted in wrongful loss to the corporation, according to the CBI report.

However, when the CBI sought sanction for prosecution in 2020, the government declined to accord sanction, citing that for prosecuting a public servant who has acted under authority, mere allegations without supporting evidence are insufficient and that specific evidence was required, which was absent in the case. It was then that Kadakampally Manoj filed a petition before the High Court challenging the decision of the government in declining the prosecution sanction.

K Biju, who issued the latest order for prosecution, did not respond to Onmanorama's request for comment.