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| Naeem Akthar regrets being a part of presser against Omar Abdullah | | Former J&K chief minister says don’t want to see senior legislator as accused; Principal Session Judge disposes of the matter | |  Srinagar, Dec 4: Senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and former minister Naeem Akhter on Monday said that he “regretted” being a part of a press conference in which serious allegations of corruption were leveled against the then J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah.
Pertinently, in 2010, senior PDP leader Nizamuddin Bhat had addressed a press conference in Srinagar in Akther’s presence.
During the presser it was alleged that the then government led by the chief minister Omar Abdullah had received kickbacks of Rs 500 cr in allotting Rattle Power project.
During the press conference it was further alleged that Rs 20 crore were spent on the renovation of the then chief minister’s official residence, Rs 26 crore were withdrawn from the secret fund of the state, permission was denied to the Non Resident Kashmiri doctor for building a hospital in Srinagar as he had refused to shell out money to get the clearance for his project and expensive items from State’s Tosh Khana were taken to CM’s residence for decoration.
After the presser a defamation case was filed against Nizamuddin Bhat and Naeem Akthar by then government through then the Public Prosecutor before Principal District and Sessions Judge Srinagar, seeking action against the PDP leaders under Sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (Punishment for defamation) of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) for leveling “false and baseless” accusations, at a presser on 25 August 2010.
The case came up for hearing in the court of Principal District Session Judge, Jawad Ahmed, in Srinagar on Monday (December 4, 2023).
Senior NC leader Nasir Aslam Wani and NC vice-president Omar Abdullah appeared in the court as witnesses to record their statements.
Both Omar and Wani informed the Principal District and Session’s Judge that Bhat has already tendered an apology in the matter while the doctor whose name was mentioned during the presser has also made a similar statement during a matter before the High Court.
After Omar and Wani recorded their statements, Akther’s lawyer requested the court to allow his client to speak. The Judge entertained the counsel’s plea.
Akthar said, “I was present at the press conference but I didn’t say anything. If my presence has hurt Omar sahib, I regret it.”
After Akthar expressed his regret, Omar told the court, “I don’t want to take the matter further as I don’t want to see a senior legislator standing as an accused in the court.”
The court directed the counsels of both the sides to get the statements recorded and disposed off the matter.
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