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Sharad Yadav discharged in hawala scam case

The Delhi high court today discharged Janata Dal-United president Sharad Yadav of the charge of receiving Rs 3 lakh as party funds in the multi-crore Hawala Scam case.

Accepting Yadav's review petition against the 1997 order of special judge V B Gupta for framing of charges against him, Justice M S A Siddiqui said, ''The video interview of Sharad Yadav does not amount to a confession.''

At the same time, ''No inference of a criminal intention in receiving the amount of Rs 3 lakh by Sharad Yadav as donation to the party fund can arise,'' Justice Siddiqui ruled. ''I am, therefore, of the opinion that the impugned order of the trial court directing to frame charges under section 120 (b) of the Indian Penal Code read with sections 7, 11, 12, 13 (2), 13 (1) (b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act against Sharad Yadav in the present case on its facts can not be sustained,'' he said. ''Therefore, the revision will have to be allowed. The impugned order of August 1, 1997 of additional sessions judge V B Gupta is set aside and the petitioner is discharged,'' the judge said in his order.

Yadav had moved the high court in 1997 after Gupta ordered framing of charges against him for receiving the amount as has been admitted by him in a television interview. Yadav and Balram Jakhar were among the only two prominent politicians against whom the order for framing charges were passed. The rest of the politicians, including top leaders of the BJP and Congress like L K Advani, Yashwant Sinha, Madan Lal Khurana, V C Shukla, Arjun Singh and Madhavrao Scindia were discharged after the high court had held that the Jain diaries, which contained the alleged transactions by the leaders, could not be accepted as evidence for prosecuting the public servants.

UNI

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