New Delhi: A local court in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against former chief minister Farooq Abdullah over alleged financial irregularities in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association.Chief Judicial Magistrate Srinagar Tabassum issued the arrest warrant after Abdullah failed to appear in court either in person or virtually, news agency PTI reported. The court also dismissed his application seeking immunity from appearing in person.The magistrate also rejected the immunity request of Manzoor Gazanfar Ali, another defendant in the case, and issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against him.The court said “appropriate orders will be made if any defendant fails to appear” and set the next hearing on March 30.A few days ago, the court dismissed an application filed by the Enforcement Directorate to add charges against Abdullah and others in the JKCA scam case. The court ruled that the ED cannot be a party to a case in which the Central Bureau of Investigation has already investigated and filed charges.However, the court noted that there was prima facie evidence against the accused, including Abdullah, and said the essential elements of the offense under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 406 (breach of trust) and 409 of the Ranbir Penal Code were established. The court then scheduled a hearing to file charges.The case involves alleged misappropriation of funds within JKCA. In 2018, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CBI) filed a chargesheet accusing Abdullah and several others of misappropriating around Rs 43 crore from a grant provided to the association by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.According to the CBI, the funds were allegedly misappropriated between 2002 and 2011, when Abdullah was the JKCA chairman.The charge sheet also named former JKCA secretary-general Mohammad Salim Khan, former treasurer Ahsan Ahmed Mirza and Jammu and Kashmir Bank executive Bashir Ahmed Misgar as accused in the case.
