Kerala High Court Orders Secretary to Decide on CBI Sanction and Threatens Arrest for Absent IAS Officer

Overview

• The High Court on June 19 expressed extreme displeasure at former Principal Secretary A. P.M. Mohammed Hanish for failing to appear and warned that he must attend on June 22 or face coercive steps including arrest.
• Justice A. Badharudeen allowed the impleading of K. Biju, the officer now in charge of cashew development, and directed him to reconsider and pass a reasoned order on sanction for a CBI probe by an early-July deadline reported as July 2 by The Hindu and July 9 by LiveLaw.
• The court had on April 10 set aside earlier orders denying sanction and found Hanish to have prima facie committed contempt; Hanish’s appeal against that direction was dismissed earlier this week before the June 19 hearing.
• The underlying petition alleges a Rs 600 crore loss from raw cashew imports between 2006 and 2015 tied to former KSCDC officials and contracts with M/s JMJ Traders, and the court says executive sanction is required before the CBI can prosecute those accused.
• The next steps to watch are Hanish’s personal appearance on June 22 and whether Biju issues a sanction order by the early-July deadline, because a grant would allow CBI prosecutions to proceed and a refusal or delay could prompt further contempt proceedings.