Former IAS officers Basharat Ahmad Dhar, Mehboob Iqbal, Ejaz Iqbal, Mushtaq Ahmad Malik, Akram Khan, and Sajad Parvez have been charged by Special Judge CBI Srinagar SC Katal in the Roshni land scam.
The case, initially registered under FIR No 26/2015 by the Vigilance Organisation Kashmir (now ACB Kashmir), was later transferred to the CBI following a direction from the High Court of J&K in PIL No 19 of 2011.
The CBI registered the case RC 1232020A0004 on November 20, 2020, charging the accused under Sections 120-B/420/RPC & Section 5(1)(d) read with 5(2) of J&K Prevention of Corruption Act. The CBI alleges that in 2007, ownership rights of state land measuring 07 kanals and 07 marlas were given to Sajjad Parvaiz at the rate of Rs 45 lakh per kanal by the empowerment committee in a meeting held on April 28, 2007 at Estate Nursingh Garh site Shaheed Gunj.
The beneficiary Sajad Parvez was not a legal occupant in terms of Section 2(e) of the State Land (Vesting of Ownership Rights to the Occupants) Act as he was only an authorised agent of lessee Ashok Sharma and Bipin Sharma by virtue of special power of attorney.
After hearing both sides, the court observed, ‘at the stage of the framing of charges, the court has to see whether the investigation agency has assembled the evidence which, if taken on its face value, is sufficient to presume that the accused may have committed the offenses as mentioned in the charge sheet or no evidence is available to go for trial of the case,’ adding ‘the court at this stage cannot decide the reliability of oral or documentary evidence assembled by the Investigation Officer.’