The corporation at the centre of the SNDP microfinance case: what KSBCDC is

Background

The Kerala High Court finding on prosecution sanction in the SNDP microfinance case turns on former Managing Directors of Kerala State Backward Classes Development Corporation Ltd. (KSBCDC). The corporation is a State owned body that lends to backward class beneficiaries in Kerala. Justice A. Badharudeen passed an interim order holding that no prosecution sanction under the Prevention of Corruption Act is required to proceed against the accused persons. The case concerns an amount of 15.85 crore and the question was whether a sanction was needed before any prosecution. The State Attorney had taken the stand that SNDP Yogam was not a nodal agency of the Backward Classes Development Department and would not fall under the definition of public servant in that Act. A crime in the matter was registered by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau. The microfinance route lends small sums to groups rather than to single borrowers.