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| Govt files criminal complaint against Nizam, Naeem, Dr Shawl | | Civil suit, seeking damages worth Rs 10 Cr, being filed separately ‘ PDP’s charge of Rs 500 Cr kickbacks against CM in Rattle allottment is baseless | | Early Times Report
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR, Sep 29: On the eve of a potentially hot session of the state legislature, National Conference-led coalition government today filed criminal complaints against two leaders of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a Kashmiri-American cardiologist of high international reputation with the argument that the respondents’ accusations of corruption against Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and a junior Minister, Nasir Aslam Wani, were not only baseless but also injurious to their public and private life.
Authoritative sources revealed to Early Times as a sequel to some PDP leaders’ press conference, Managing Director of Jammu & Kashmir State Power Development Corporation (PDC) had approached the state government with the complaint that “unsubstantiated accusations” leveled against its Chairman were highly injurious to his public and private life. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is the Minister incharge Power as well as Chairman of PDC.
Power Development Department forwarded the submission to Chief Secretary with the request that sanction be accorded to the prosecution of the two PDP leaders who had leveled the allegations of corruption against the Chairman of PDC and Minister incharge Power, Omar Abdullah.
On August 25th, PDP leaders, led by MLA of Bandipore, Nizam-ud-din Bhat and the party Spokesman, Naeem Akhtar, had claimed at a news conference in Srinagar that Chief Minister had received kickbacks worth Rs 500 Cr from a private company on account of the allotment of 690 mw Rattle Hydroelectric Power Project. Dismissing the charge against him as baseless and motivated, Chief Minister had served a legal notice on the PDP leaders, on August 28th, asking them to either withdraw their allegation with a public apology or else face criminal and civil suits in a court of law.
Even as the PDP leaders chose neither to apologise nor to respond to the legal notice, newspapers quoted Naeem Akhtar to have said that his party was prepared for the legal battle and would prove the accusations against the Chief Minister in the court of law.
Sources said that Chief Secretary, S S Kapur, who happens to be the competent authority, granted sanction to prosecution of the two PDP leaders on Tuesday. Consequently, Government today filed a criminal complaint of defamation under sections 499 and 500 of RPC in terms of section 198-A of CrPC in the court of Principal District & Sessions Judge, Srinagar, Mr B L Bhat. Public Prosecutor, Abdul Aziz Teli, appeared in the court to press criminal action under law against the two PDP leaders. Imprisonment upto seven years is the penalty in such matters of criminal defamation.
According to these sources, Minister of State for Housing & Urban Development Department, Nasir Aslam Wani, had approached the government separately, seeking sanction to the prosecution against the Washington DC-based world-renowned cardiologist, Dr Fayaz Shawl, on account of latter’s claim that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s Ministerial colleague had demanded a sum of Rs 3 Cr for granting permission to a modern heart center in Nishat area in Srinagar outskirts.
Born and brought up in Srinagar, Dr Shawl, wanted to establish a hospital on the land he purchased in foothills of picturesque Zabarvan. In June this year, he abandoned his plan and left back for USA while complaining publicly that permission to the proposed hospital had been made subject to payment of bribe money worth Rs 3 Cr by men in Omar Abdullah’s government. He reportedly told Chief Minister that corruption was growing as a cancer in his government. He claimed to be in possession of a “smoking gun”.
In days of the cardiologist’s press conference, Mr Wani served a legal notice on Dr Shawl, asking him to withdraw his allegation with a public apology or be prepared to face a libel suit. Dr Shawl could not be reached over telephone but sources said that he clarified to Mr Wani in an email that the text of his assertion was far different from what he had stated at the press conference in Srinagar. He neither withdrew the allegation nor tendered any apology to Mr Wani.
Sources said that like in the PDC case, Chief Secretary, S S Kapur, yesterday granted sanction to the prosecution of Dr Fayaz Shawl under sections 499 and 500 of RPC in terms of section 198-A of CrPC. Consequently, Government today filed a complaint of criminal defamation against Dr Fayaz Shawl in the court of Principal District & Sessions Judge, Mr B L Bhat.
Sources said that after hearing preliminary arguments from Public Prosecutor, Abdul Aziz Teli, court issued warrants for personal appearance of all three of the respondents---Nizam-ud-din Bhat, Naeem Akhtar and Dr Fayaz Shawl---in two separately filed criminal complaints against them. While the warrants against Nizam and Naeem are being executed through SSP Srinagar, sources said that summons against Dr Shawl were likely to be served through the American Embassy in New Delhi.
Chief Minister, some government officials as also the mediapersons who attended the separately held conferences of the two PDP leaders and the Kashmiri-American cardiologist, have been mentioned as witnesses. Sources said that the government was separately drafting and filing civil complaints against the two PDP leaders and Dr Shawl, seeking damages worth Rs 10 Cr. Two of senior New Delhi-based Supreme Court lawyers are likely to be engaged in these high profile libel suits. Advocate General, Mohammad Ishaq Qadiri, was currently in New Delhi but it was not immediately clear whether he was approaching the lawyers or was preoccupied with different chores.
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