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JKCA case: ED moves Srinagar court with fresh charges against Abdullah
The agency has sought to invoke Sections 411 and 424 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which involves a scheduled offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The sections deal with dishonest retention or concealment of a stolen property.
About a month after the Jammu and Kashmir high court quashed chargesheets filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah and others in connection with its money laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), the federal agency has moved a special court in Srinagar requesting it to take cognisance of fresh charges against the National Conference (NC) leader, people familiar with the development said.
The agency has sought to invoke Sections 411 and 424 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which involves a scheduled offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The sections deal with dishonest retention or concealment of a stolen property.
While quashing the charges against Abdullah and others on August 14, the J&K high court said no predicate offence was made against the individuals and hence the chargesheet and supplementary chargesheet filed by the ED are quashed.
To be sure, the HC gave the ED liberty to approach the trial court for filing fresh charges that form part of the predicate offence.
Officials cited above said: “If the court accepts our plea, we (ED) can file a fresh case or chargesheet in the matter.”
The ED had named NC chief Abdullah, Ahsan Ahmad Mirza (former treasurer of the JKCA), Mir Manzoor Gazanffer (another ex-treasurer of the JKCA) and some others as accused in the chargesheet.
Those listed in the chargesheet had moved the high court seeking its quashing.
It had alleged that during Abdullah’s tenure, he and other office-bearers were involved in siphoning off of JKCA funds of over ₹7,113 crore by way of transfer to various personal bank accounts of unrelated parties, including those of JKCA office-bearers, and by way of unexplained cash withdrawals from its bank accounts.
The agency had questioned the NC leader in 2019 and 2020, with him terming the developments “political vendetta” orchestrated by the Centre. He had in 2020 said such actions will continue till elections are held in the UT.
Abdullah was chargesheeted in the case, which has its genesis in a 2018 chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), two years ago.
The ED has blamed Abdullah for “misusing” his position as the JKCA president and made appointments in the sports body so that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)-sponsored funds could be laundered.
In its supplementary chargesheet in 2022, the ED said Abdullah, along with other officer-bearers, indulged in misappropriation of funds from 2005 to 2012.
It said funds were transferred and withdrawn from different accounts and Abdullah did not raise the matter before a working committee despite being aware of it.
