Kochi: In a sharp rebuke to the bureaucracy, the Kerala High Court on Wednesday initiated suo motu contempt proceedings against Cashew Development Department Secretary K. Biju, holding that a government order issued by him in the multi crore Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC) corruption case contained remarks that were prima facie contemptuous of court and appeared designed to discredit the judiciary while helping the accused.
Justice A. Badharudeen directed the senior IAS officer to appear before the court in person on Friday and issued notice under Rule 9 of the Contempt of Court (High Court of Kerala) Rules.
The court was hearing a contempt petition filed by Kadakampally Manoj over the government’s repeated delay in granting sanction to prosecute former KSCDC officials accused of causing a loss of around Rs 600 crore through the import of raw cashew nuts from Africa.
Although the government has now granted CBI sanction to prosecute former Managing Director K.A. Ratheesh and former Chairman R. Chandrasekharan, the court found the first government order issued on July 2 objectionable.
The order suggested that the sanction was being granted only because the High Court had compelled the government to do so, instead of recording an independent administrative decision.
The Advocate General advised the government to withdraw the order, describing portions of it as amounting to ex facie contempt of court.
A revised order, deleting the offending references, was issued on July 6. Accepting the Advocate General’s stand, the High Court observed that the earlier order amounted to a serious attack on judicial independence and could not be permitted to remain on record except for initiating contempt and disciplinary proceedings against the officer concerned.
During the hearing, Justice Badharudeen made a series of unusually strong oral observations, questioning whether the order had been drafted to shield the accused rather than prosecute them.
The court further remarked that the order appeared more beneficial to the accused than to the prosecution and expressed concern that copies had reached the accused, who had publicly relied on its contents to mount a political defence.
In another sharp observation, the court said it was not inclined to attribute the controversy to the political executive.
“I am blaming the officer alone. I do not believe the Chief Minister or Ministers would have approved such a foolish order,” the judge observed, adding that the officer’s conduct appeared to be a deliberate attempt to tarnish the image of the judiciary before the public.
The case will be taken up again on Friday, when K. Biju has been directed to appear before the court in person.
(IANS)
