Now Reading: J&K High Court rejects ED plea to add charges against Farooq Abdullah
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J&K High Court rejects ED plea to add charges against Farooq Abdullah
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has rejected the Enforcement Directorate's plea to add charges under Sections 411 and 424 of the Ranbir Penal Code against former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah in…
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has rejected the Enforcement Directorate's plea to add charges under Sections 411 and 424 of the Ranbir Penal Code against former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah in the JKCA funds misappropriation case. Justice Sanjay Parihar held that the material on record did not prima facie disclose the ingredients of those offences.
The ED had sought the addition of charges after the CBI charge-sheet alleged that Rs 112.13 crore remitted by the BCCI to the JKCA was misappropriated, with Rs 43.69 crore diverted. The court partly allowed the ED's revision petition on the question of locus standi, ruling that the trial court erred in rejecting the application on that ground. However, it rejected the substantive prayer for adding charges.
The court clarified that the trial court retains the power to alter or add charges if material emerges during the trial. The case stems from allegations that funds were diverted into personal accounts when Abdullah was JKCA president. The CBI filed its charge-sheet in 2018, and the ED later sought the additional charges.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Both livelaw.in and thehindu.com report the court's ruling neutrally, focusing on the legal reasoning and the rejection of the ED's plea. Livelaw.in provides more detail on the court's interpretation of Section 216 CrPC, while thehindu.com highlights the defence argument that the ED's application was a tactic to overcome jurisdictional hurdles under PMLA after the Pavana Dibbur ruling. The common thread is the court's insistence that charges must be based on prima facie material, not procedural convenience. The key next step is the trial court's ongoing proceedings, where it may yet add charges if new evidence emerges.
Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral
Sources (3): livelaw.in (neutral report), thehindu.com (neutral report), livelaw.in (2) (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
