ED plea in court seeks addition fresh charges against Farooq Abdullah

Srinagar/New Delhi, Sep 10: The Enforcement Directorate has filed an application before a court in Srinagar seeking the addition of two fresh criminal charges against former chief minister Farooq Abdullah and others in the JKCA money laundering case that was quashed by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court last month.

Official sources said the agency recently submitted its plea before the court of Principal District and Sessions Judge praying for the addition of IPC sections 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property) and 424 (dishonest or fraudulent removal or concealment of property) in the case related to alleged financial irregularities in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA).

The move by the federal agency comes after the Jammu and Kashmir High Court quashed its case and charge sheet against Abdullah and some others on August 14 saying the offence of money laundering was not made out.

The high court, however, allowed the ED to "canvass" its case before a local court seeking the addition of fresh IPC sections and if it decides to frame charges against Abdullah and five others for any of the scheduled offences, it shall be open for the ED to register a fresh case and launch prosecution.

The ED, as per the sources, filed this high court-directed application recently stating that the CBI "inadvertently missed/failed to specifically incorporate/mention the said offence under Section 411 and 424 of IPC".

The move comes at a time when assembly polls are being held in J&K and 86-year-old Abdullah's party, National Conference (NC), is in the fray along with other parties. Abdullah is the president of NC.

The ED, in its application, has requested the Srinagar court to frame fresh charges against the accused under the two stated sections saying it (Srinagar court) was vested with wide powers under section 216 of CrPC to "add/amend" charges and that "this can be exercised in appropriate cases, in the interest of justice".

Abdullah has been questioned multiple times by the agency in the case.

The ED had attached assets belonging to Abdullah and others worth Rs 21.55 crore.

The agency's case is based on a 2018 charge sheet filed by the CBI against the same accused.

The CBI charge sheet alleged "misappropriation of JKCA funds amounting to Rs 43.69 crore" from grants given by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to promote the sport in the erstwhile state between 2002 and 2011.

The ED had earlier said its probe found that JKCA received Rs 94.06 crore from BCCI in three different bank accounts during the financial years 2005-2006 to 2011-2012 (up to December 2011).