The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has quashed the case and charge sheets filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and others, related to a money laundering investigation into alleged irregularities in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA).
Justice Sanjeev Kumar criticized the ED, stating that it “is not an authority or investigating agency in any manner superior to CBI, nor is vested with or conferred the power and jurisdiction to sit in appeal against the investigation made and the conclusion drawn later.” The judge, who had reserved his judgment on August 7, noted that based on the CBI charge sheet, the offence of money laundering is not established.
“The complaint, the charge sheet, and the charges framed by the designated court are quashed,” the judge stated but instructed the ED to appear before the designated CBI court to argue on money laundering charges.
Should the designated CBI court agree, the ED may file a fresh case.
“The ED cannot be permitted to preempt the outcome of an exercise, which is yet to be undertaken by a competent court of law at the stage of charge/discharge,” the court said.
“As of now, the charge sheet presented by the CBI pertains only to sections 120-B, 406, and 409 RPC, which are admittedly not scheduled offences,” the court noted.
The central probe agency had named National Conference chief Abdullah, Ahsan Ahmad Mirza (former treasurer of JKCA), Mir Manzoor Gazanffer (another former treasurer of the JKCA), and others as accused in the charge sheet.
Shariq J Reyaz, representing Mirza and Gazanffer, argued before the high court that the ED lacked jurisdiction over the case and that the charge sheets filed against his clients should be quashed.
The ED was represented by Additional Solicitor General S V Raju through virtual mode.
“The ED… must accept the investigation carried out by another investigating agency and the conclusion drawn by that agency regarding the commission of offences other than the offence under PMLA,” the order stated.
In conclusion, the judge emphasized that “to maintain harmony and avoid contradictory stands by the two investigating agencies operating within their independent fields, it is necessary that the ED respects the CBI’s decision.”
Mirza was arrested by the ED in September 2019, with a charge sheet filed against him in November of the same year, and the trial in that complaint is ongoing.
Abdullah has been questioned multiple times by the agency in this case.
The federal probe agency had attached assets worth Rs 21.55 crore belonging to Abdullah and others under three separate orders issued previously.
The ED’s case is based on a 2018 charge sheet filed by the CBI against the same accused. The CBI’s charge sheet alleged “misappropriation of JKCA funds amounting to Rs 43.69 crore” from grants provided 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 previously stated that its investigation revealed JKCA received Rs 94.06 crore from BCCI in three different bank accounts during financial years 2005-2006 to 2011-2012 (up to December 2011).
It alleged that several additional bank accounts were opened in the name of the JKCA, into which the funds were transferred. These accounts, along with existing ones, were later used for laundering JKCA funds.
The court was considering whether a case for money laundering was established and whether the ED could examine and register a case already being pursued by another agency.
