B k jha

NSK News

Kochi (Ernakulam), 11 July

Summary (in English):An IAS officer named K. Biju (Principal Secretary in charge of the Cashew Development Department, Government of Kerala) appeared in the Kerala High Court and personally tendered an unconditional apology for allegedly disrespectful remarks he had made in an official government order.

What happened:

The High Court had earlier directed the government to reconsider prosecuting two former officials of the Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (former Managing Director Ratheesh and Chairman R. Chandrasekharan) on corruption-related charges.Instead of properly complying, Biju passed an order on 2 July criticising the court’s direction. He wrote that the government was “forced” to grant prosecution sanction because of the court’s order and that the matter wasn’t properly considered.

The High Court found the language of the order contemptuous (it appeared to question the court’s authority and undermine its image).The court issued a contempt notice against him.In court:Biju appeared in person and orally apologised, saying he regretted the language used, withdrew the offending order, and had no intention of disrespecting the court.

The judge (Justice A. Badaruddin) was not satisfied with the verbal apology.He asked Biju to file a revised written affidavit (māfīnāmā) with more specific and appropriate wording — particularly admitting that the original order was passed after due consideration and explaining why it was later reviewed and withdrawn.

The matter has been adjourned to 15 July.Key takeaway:This is a classic case of judicial contempt proceedings against a senior bureaucrat for using strong, critical language against a court order in an official government document. The court is insisting on a proper, unconditional, and carefully worded apology rather than accepting a casual one.Would you like a full English translation of the article or any specific part explained further?