Exclude Justice Ramachandran Nair from list of accused in CSR fund scam: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday took on record a statement by the State's prosecution office indicating that former judge Justice CN Ramachandran Nair while be excluded from those arraigned as the accused in the the CSR fund scam case [Saijo Hassan & Ors v. State of Kerala & Ors]..Accordingly, the Bench of Justices A Muhamed Mustaque and P Krishna Kumar asked the State investigating agencies to act on the prosecution officer's statement and exclude Justice Ramachandran Nair from the list of accused persons in the CSR case."Today a statement handed over to the Director General of Prosecution has been placed before us. We record the same. In such view of the matter, the investigating officer shall act upon that statement and do the necessary to exclude the former judge of this Court from the array of accused," the Court's order said..Pertinently, the Court also directed the Home Department of the State to consider devising guidelines on steps to be taken before any judge is named in criminal cases, given the far-reaching consequences such matters may have. "No one is above the law but at the same time we are also of the view that if such persons (judicial officers or judges) are implicated in a crime, it affects the credibility of the institution and would shake the confidence of the public ... We also request the Home department of the State to consider devising guidelines for registering such cases," the Court ordered. .The order was passed on a writ petition filed by five lawyers who had challenged the registration of the case against Justice Ramachandran Nair..During the hearing today, the Bench clarified that it did not believe that any judge was above the law. However, it also flagged concern that the implication of judges in criminal cases may have far-reaching implications on public faith in the judiciary."People may criticise that judges are not above the law. That is correct. But by the time a case against a judge is decided, there will be far reaching implications for the judiciary," the Bench said. It added that although media coverage of such cases may amplify such issues, the media too cannot be blamed for reporting on the news..Director General of Prosecution TA Shaji pointed out that the media could be asked not to sensationalise such sensitive issues."It is not a question of special treatment for judges. Such cases can have far-reaching consequences for the reputation and credibility of the judiciary," Justice Mustaque observed.He added that even investigating officers may not be in a position to act decisively. "Supreme Court may be able to fix some criteria for dealing with such cases," he added. .The multi-crore Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fund scam in which former Justice Nair was named earlier, involves allegations that one Ananthu Krishnan defrauded several people and charitable societies by promising to deliver two-wheelers, laptops, sewing machines and household appliances at half the market price. Krishnan would allegedly claim that he was procuring these items using CSR funds of several private firms.According to the police, Krishnan, claiming to be the coordinator of the National NGO Confederation, approached several charitable organisations with his fraudulent offer. These organisations in turn helped him to identify beneficiaries and pooled funds with him as well.Police stations across Kerala have been flooded with complaints from those who were defrauded by Krishnan..Justice Nair was named as the third accused in an FIR registered by the Perinthalmanna police based on a complaint filed by one Danimon, who is the President of the Angadippuram Kisan Service Society (KSS), an implementing agency. As per the complaint, the NGO Confederation and its office bearers swindled ₹34 lakh from KSS between April and November 2024.The FIR names Justice Nair as an accused in his capacity as a patron of the National NGO Confederation. The FIR includes offences punishable under Sections 318(4) (cheating inducing delivery of property) and 3(5) (offence committed by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).Krishnan has been named as the second accused as the Chairman of the NGO Confederation which is the first accused..The petition moved by the five lawyers, all of whom practice before the Kerala High Court, alleged that the FIR was based on a frivolous and unfounded complaint. Justice Nair's involvement with the NGO was purely nominal, they argued.It was also contended that the complaint itself does not disclose any cognizable offence against the retired judge and that the registration of the FIR was an abuse of power by the police, undertaken with the ulterior motive to undermine public confidence in the judiciary."Moreover, arraying a retired judge as an accused without a proper legal basis poses a threat to judicial independence and sets a dangerous precedent," the plea stated.The lawyers further argued no preliminary inquiry was conducted before registering the FIR, which violates in the principles laid down by the Supreme Court and Section 175 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).Citing constitutional safeguards under Article 21, the lawyers sought to quash the FIR to the extent that it arrays Justice Nair as an accused.The Court today disposed of the writ petition after asking the State investigation to exclude the former judge from the array of accused persons, in line with the statement submitted by the State's prosecution office. .The petitioner-lawyers were represented by Senior Advocate George Poonthottam and advocates Philip J Vettickattu, Neenu Bernath and Saju S Dominic..Since the registration of the FIR against him, Justice Nair has publicly rubbished the allegations and stated that he was not a patron of the NGO Confederation. He stated that he was merely a legal advisor and had severed all ties with the organisation some time ago.Justice Nair has also been in the news recently after he was appointed by the State government to head an inquiry commission to look into the Munambam land dispute.Following the registration of the FIR, High Court lawyer Kulathoor Jaisingh had written to the Chief Minister requesting that Justice Nair be removed from the Commission..Several other prominent individuals have been named as accused in the scam in complaints filed at various police stations. These include Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Najeeb Kanthapuram and Congress leader Laly Vincent. The latter was recently granted interim protection from arrest by the Kerala High Court.An NGO headed by BJP leader AN Radhakrishnan has also been named in some complaints..[Read live coverage of the hearing]