Former KSCDC chairperson Chandrashekaran welcomes move to grant sanction for prosecution

Thiruvananthapuram: INTUC state president R Chandrasekharan welcomed govt’s decision to grant sanction to prosecute him in Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC) corruption case, saying the truth would emerge during the trial.Chandrasekharan, former chairperson of the cashew corporation, said he learnt about the govt’s decision through media reports and questioned why public attention was focused solely on him when the case involved others too. He maintained that he served as chairperson of the corporation for only three of the 10 years during which the alleged irregularities are said to have taken place.Defending his role, Chandrasekharan said all major decisions were taken collectively by the corporation’s board of directors and that no chairman could be held individually responsible for decisions approved unanimously by the board.

He added that he had assumed charge as chairperson only in 2012.He denied ever requesting the previous govt to withhold prosecution sanction, saying the decision rested entirely with the govt. “The previous govt did not find sufficient evidence of corruption and therefore did not grant sanction. The court later directed the new secretary to take a decision, and that directive has now been implemented,” he said.Questioning the motives of the complainant, Chandrasekharan alleged that the complaint stemmed from his opposition to the formation of a new trade union.

He also dismissed media reports on the alleged scale of the scam, saying transactions worth Rs 224 crore had been exaggerated into allegations of a Rs 2,000-crore fraud.Stating that the legal process had reached its proper stage, Chandrasekharan said he was prepared to face trial and would accept responsibility if any wrongdoing on his part was established. He added that his continuation as INTUC president would be decided in consultation with the organisation’s central leadership.The case relates to alleged financial irregularities in the import of raw cashew nuts and the purchase of processed cashew kernels by Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation between 2006 and 2015. Investigators have alleged irregularities amounting to nearly Rs 500 crore in imports worth around Rs 1,400 crore.CBI began probing the case in 2015 and filed its chargesheet in 2020. While the previous state govt informed high court on three occasions that no corruption had taken place in the cashew imports, the present govt, acting on fresh legal advice, has granted sanction to prosecute Chandrasekharan and K A Ratheesh. The CBI is now expected to file a supplementary chargesheet invoking provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act against the accused.