In a major relief to National Conference president and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah, the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court on Wednesday quashed the chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against him and others in a money laundering case related to alleged misuse of funds of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association. However, Abdullah was not a petitioner before the High Court in this case but was one of the accused named in the chargesheet.
Justice Sanjiv Kumar said that he found merit in the arguments presented by counsel for the petitioner very strongly and regretted his inability to accept the submissions of the Additional Solicitor General of India.
The court order said that the complaint, chargesheet and the charges framed by the designated special court (Principal Sessions Court, Srinagar) vide its order dated March 18, 2020 are dismissed. However, it is also clarified that notwithstanding the dismissal of the charges, it will remain open for the ED to register a fresh ECIR and initiate prosecution against the petitioner under Section 3 of the PMLA, if ultimately the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Srinagar frames charges for the offence/offences specifically mentioned in the schedule of the PMLA.
In its charge sheet, the ED had named Abdullah, former Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association treasurer Ahsan Ahmed Mirza, another former JKCA treasurer Mir Manzoor Gazanfar and some others as accused.
