Srinagar Court Issues Non-Bailable Warrant Against Farooq Abdullah In JKCA Misappropriation Case

The court was hearing proceedings related to alleged misappropriation of funds in the cricket body during the period when Abdullah served as its president. The matter was listed for framing of charges against him and other accused persons in the case.

The order was passed by the Court after noting that the accused had been granted the option to join the proceedings through virtual mode but did not appear before the court.

Background

The case pertains to allegations of a multi-crore financial scam within the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association between 2001 and 2011, during which Abdullah headed the cricket body. Investigations into the matter were carried out by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which subsequently filed a charge sheet in 2018.

Despite the filing of the charge sheet, the commencement of trial proceedings has remained delayed for several years due to the pendency of the stage of framing of charges against the accused. The matter was listed before the court on March 12 for consideration of framing of charges against Abdullah and other individuals named in the case.

Today during the hearing, Abdullah did not appear before the court. His counsel moved an application seeking exemption from personal appearance. The court, however, rejected the exemption plea after noting that the accused had been given the option to participate in the proceedings through virtual mode.

Finding that the accused had failed to ensure his presence despite this option being available, the court proceeded to issue a non-bailable warrant against him.

According to the defence, Abdullah could not attend the hearing as he was present in Jammu, where he had reportedly survived an assassination attempt the previous evening.

Following issuance of the non-bailable warrant, the court fixed March 30 as the next date of hearing in the matter.