The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has quashed the charge sheets filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and others related to a money laundering probe involving the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA).
Justice Sanjeev Kumar ruled that no predicate offence was established, leading to the dismissal of both the charge sheet and the supplementary charge sheet.
The ED had named Abdullah, former JKCA treasurers Ahsan Ahmad Mirza and Mir Manzoor Gazanffer, among others, as accused.
These individuals challenged the charges, asserting that the ED lacked jurisdiction and that the charges were unfounded.
Their argument was supported by the court, which accepted that no predicate offence had been demonstrated.
Mirza was arrested by the ED in September 2019, and a charge sheet was filed against him in November of that year.
The ED had previously attached assets worth Rs 21.55 crore belonging to Abdullah and others. The case was based on a 2018 CBI charge sheet alleging misappropriation of Rs 43.69 crore in JKCA funds from BCCI grants between 2002 and 2011.
The ED’s investigation had revealed that Rs 94.06 crore from BCCI was transferred through various accounts, which were later used for money laundering.(KNS)
