Jammu Tawi, Sep 24: The division bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court has reserved its verdict in the much-hyped Roshni Scam of Rs 25 Thousand Crore. The debate on both sides ended on Wednesday on a PIL seeking a CBI inquiry into the biggest scam in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, but the bench did not pronounce its verdict.
The PIL filed six years ago said that the Anti Corruption Bureau probing the case is not able to bring the culprits behind bars, so it should be impartially investigated by the CBI, as many influential people of Jammu and Kashmir including some top politicians, police officers, administrative officers and land mafia were involved. Advocate Ankur Sharma in his PIL has alleged illegal occupation of twenty lakh Kanal state land and selling such land at peanuts price under the garb of Roshni Act.
Since many former ministers, leaders, IAS and KAS officers are involved in this case and the Anti Corruption Bureau is not able to take action against them. He argued that under a conspiracy, a scam of 25 thousand crores was done. In such a situation, to give justice to the public, this matter should be investigated by an agency like CBI. Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed, appearing in the same case, said that the former governments did not cooperate in this matter and the Accountant General of Jammu and Kashmir had also accused the government of non-cooperation in a press conference. He said that from 2013 to 2020 only two FIRs were challaned, while ten FIRs are still pending investigation. In three FIRs, the Bureau has not yet gotten the approval for action and two FIRs were closed for lack of evidence.
Senior Additional Advocate General SS Nanda said that the committee has submitted the final report and they should be given one month's time to submit the final report. After this, the Chief Justice Geeta Mittal and Justice Rajesh Abdal reserved their decision in the Division Bench of the High Court.
