The Kerala High Court expressed its dissatisfaction with the State government on Thursday due to continued delays in granting prosecution sanctions for officials allegedly involved in the SNDP microfinance fraud case. In the matter of MS Anil v State of Kerala & anr and its related case, Justice A Badharudeen dismissed the State’s plea for an additional two weeks to issue the sanction.
Justice Badharudeen mandated the personal appearance of the Additional Chief Secretary of the Backward Classes Development Department in court on September 11 to explain the reasons behind the delay in granting the required prosecution sanction. The Court previously instructed that the sanction decision should be made by September 10, 2026.
The judge firmly stated, “Since the direction of this Court has not been complied with in the matter of granting prosecution sanction without any justification, the prayer of the learned Public Prosecutor to grant further time is rejected. Post tomorrow for appearance of the Additional Chief Secretary to explain why he failed to comply with the order.”
This case revolves around the alleged misappropriation of approximately ₹15.85 crore in government funds, which were intended as microfinance loans for marginalized communities. These funds were given to the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam and were allegedly misused by its office-bearers, including the then-General Secretary, Vellappally Natesan. The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) registered a case in 2016 concerning these allegations.
In a related development, the High Court recently ordered the removal of Vellappally Natesan from his position as General Secretary due to the SNDP’s failure to submit financial statements within the statutory deadlines. Meanwhile, petitioner MS Anil has called for an effective investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the alleged misappropriation of microfinance funds.
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In August 2026, the investigating officer informed the Court of the involvement of several accused individuals in eight cases. Further progress in some cases requires a prosecution sanction from the State, as some accused are officials of the Kerala State Backwards Classes Development Corporation (KSBCDC). The State must provide this sanction before prosecution can proceed.
On August 14, the Court acknowledged that the Secretary/Additional Chief Secretary of the State’s Backwards Classes Development Department is the competent authority to grant such sanction. Nonetheless, the State’s public prosecutor reported that the sanction had not yet been issued, prompting the High Court to summon the Additional Chief Secretary for a detailed explanation. The matter is scheduled for further hearing tomorrow.
Advocate D Anil Kumar represented the petitioner, MS Anil, in this case.
