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| Dr Farooq gets passport relief in JKCA scam, court eases travel curbs | | |  Early Times Report
Jammu, July 16: In a major relief for National Conference president and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah, a Srinagar Court on Thursday issued a No Objection Certificate (NoC) for the renewal of his passport in the alleged Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) funds misappropriation case.
Additional Sessions Judge Farooq Ahmad Bhat directed the Regional Passport Officer, Srinagar, to renew Abdullah's passport for one year, subject to the condition that he is not involved in any other criminal case or facing any FIR that bars the issuance of a passport. However, the court made it clear that Abdullah cannot travel outside Jammu and Kashmir or abroad without prior permission from the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Srinagar, considering the pendency of criminal proceedings against him.
The order came while disposing of Abdullah's petition seeking renewal of his passport after the Regional Passport Office sought either an acquittal order or a No Objection Certificate following an adverse police verification report linked to FIR No. 27/2012.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) opposed the plea, arguing that Abdullah is facing prosecution in a serious corruption case involving the alleged misappropriation of JKCA funds and expressing apprehension that the issuance of a passport could enable him to evade trial.
The court, however, observed that the mere pendency of a criminal case is not an absolute bar to the issuance or renewal of a passport. Referring to the Supreme Court's 2025 judgment in Mahesh Kumar Agarwal v. Union of India, it held that the right to travel abroad is part of Article 21 of the Constitution and clarified that possessing a passport does not automatically entitle a person to travel abroad without judicial permission.
The alleged JKCA scam pertains to the misappropriation of Rs 43.69 crore out of Rs 113 crore released by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to the association between 2006 and 2012 for the promotion of cricket in Jammu and Kashmir.
The CBI took over the investigation in 2015 on the directions of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court and filed a chargesheet in 2018 against Dr Abdullah and three others in connection with the alleged embezzlement. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also probing the case and had attached properties worth Rs 11.86 crore linked to Abdullah in 2020. |
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