Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on Wednesday quashed the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) charge sheet against former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah, along with several others, in a high-profile money laundering case involving the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA).
The court’s decision came after it found that no predicate offence had been established against the accused, leading to the dismissal of the ED’s charge sheet and supplementary filings. The ED had originally pursued the case based on allegations of financial irregularities within the JKCA.
In addition to Abdullah, the ED had named Ahsan Ahmad Mirza, who served as the JKCA treasurer at the time, former treasurer Mir Manzoor Gazanfar, and several others in its charge sheet. These individuals subsequently petitioned the High Court to quash the charges. Dr Abdullah, who is also the chief of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC), has been questioned multiple times by the ED in connection with the case. The agency also attached assets worth Rs 21.55 crore belonging to Abdullah and others involved in the case.
Mirza was arrested by the ED in September 2019, and a charge sheet was filed against him two months later. The trial in that case is still ongoing. Shariq Reyaz, the lawyer representing Mirza and Gazanfar, argued that the ED lacked jurisdiction in the matter, leading to the request for the quashing of the charge sheets against his clients.
Following the August 7 hearing, the court reserved its judgment, which was delivered on Wednesday. The ED was represented virtually by Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju. Reyaz confirmed that the court accepted their argument that no predicate offence had been established, rendering the ED's jurisdiction invalid.
"The complaint, the charge sheet, and the charges framed by the designated Special Court (Principal Sessions Court, Srinagar) in an order dated March 18, 2020, are quashed," the High Court said in its judgment.
However, the court clarified that the ED could still file a fresh Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) and initiate prosecution under Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) if the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Srinagar, later frames charges for any offences listed in the PMLA schedule.'
The case traces back to 2018 when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a charge sheet accusing Abdullah, Mirza, Gazanfar, and former JKCA accountants Bashir Ahmad Misgar and Gulzar Ahmad Beigh of misappropriating Rs 43.69 crore from funds allocated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) between 2002 and 2011.
The ED’s investigation claimed that the JKCA had received Rs 94.06 crore from the BCCI across three different bank accounts between 2005 and 2011. It alleged that additional bank accounts were opened under the JKCA’s name to facilitate the laundering of these funds.
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