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| HC sets aside trial court order against Kiran Wattal, dismisses chargesheet | | |  Early Times Report
JAMMU, Dec 11: The J&K High Court has set aside a trial court order against ex-JMC commissioner Kiran Wattal and dismissed the chargesheet against him.
The court directive came in a petition filed by Wattal in which he had challenged the October 14, 2023 order of Special Judge, Anti-Corruption, Jammu, whereby charges for offences under section 5(1)(d) read with section 5(2) of J&K Prevention of Corruption Act and section 120-B of RPC had been framed against him.
After hearing both the sides, the court ordered, "The impugned order passed by the trial court against the petitioner is set aside and the petitioner is discharged. Consequently, the chargesheet against the petitioner shall stand dismissed."
"It is clear that the material collected by the investigating agency during investigation of the case, does not substantiate the allegation of the prosecution that the beneficiaries were having a defective title to the land on which the building was sought to be erected and that the petitioner, while according permission to the beneficiaries to raise construction on the land in question, has ignored this aspect of the matter despite the objections of the revenue authorities. Once, it is found that the allegations in the chargesheet are not substantiated by the material collected by the investigating agency, the charge laid against the petitioner is rendered groundless and he is entitled to be discharged. The impugned order passed by the trial court is, therefore, unsustainable in law and deserves to be set aside," he ordered. Wattal was represented by senior advocate Pranav Kohli along with advocates Aftab Malik & Rajat Watal. Senior AAG Monika Kohli & advocate Aparna Gupta represented the respondents. During the case hearing, Kohli put forward commendable arguments which the court heard very attentively. |
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