ibn sultan
Srinagar, Sep 2: A special court in Jammu and Kashmir has acquitted senior PDP leader and former minister Naeem Akhtar Andrabi along with two former officials of J&K Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC) in a corruption case filed against them six years ago.
Special Judge Anti-Corruption, Surinder Singh, observed that the charges under various sections of law were “groundless” and dismissed the chargesheet submitted in 2021. In his 27-page order passed on August 29, the judge stated:
“No case for framing of charge against the accused is made out… the accused shall stand discharged accordingly, and their bail bonds shall stand discharged.”
The case originated in 2019 after the J&K Crime Branch registered an FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Andrabi, then JKPCC managing director Vikar Mustafa Shonthu, and company secretary Neeru Chadha, following alleged irregularities in Shonthu’s appointment. A fact-finding committee report in March 2019 had called Shonthu’s appointment “illegal and in gross violation of laid down rules.”
The court noted that Andrabi, while serving as JKPCC chairman and works minister, could not be presumed to have used his position for personal or others’ gain. The judge also stated that improper notice or procedural lapses at board meetings did not constitute criminal wrongdoing.
The court emphasized that criminal charges require concrete evidence, which the prosecution failed to provide. Consequently, the accused were fully acquitted of all allegations.
