Cashew scam: Kerala HC asks Cashew Dept. Secretary to revise apology

The Kerala High Court on Friday asked K. Biju, Secretary of the Cashew Department, to modify his affidavit in the cashew import scam and mention there was enough evidence to issue prosecution sanction against INTUC State president and former Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC) Chairperson R. Chandrasekharan and former managing director K. A. Ratheesh.

The court also directed the official to mention in the affidavit that he had independently evaluated the materials given by the CBI while deciding on the prosecution sanction.

Justice A. Badharudeen issued the directives while considering the unconditional apology filed by Mr. Biju. The court asked the official to file a fresh affidavit making the modifications.

An earlier government order clearing the sanction had run into controversy after it was mentioned that the prosecution sanction was issued following the instructions from the court.

The court had issued a contempt of court notice to Mr. Biju and directed his personal appearance, noting that the sanction order issued by him on July 2 was accusatory and “intended to malign the judiciary.” Later, this order was withdrawn and re-issued excluding the impugned statements on July 6, on the advice of the Advocate General.

The contempt plea was filed after the State refused to grant the sanction order, despite a High Court order directing it to consider the material evidence produced by the CBI.