Srinagar, Sep 29: A local court Saturday acquitted Muslim League Chairman Dr Muhammad Qasim Faktoo of the charges in an FIR  registered against him in Soura Police Station in 2000 under the section 4/5 Explosive Substances Act.
 Third Additional Sessions Judge Srinagar Y P Kotwal today announced the judgment which was reserved earlier on a petition by the state seeking conviction of Dr Faktoo for committing offences under Explosive Substances Act.
  Counsels, Muhammad Abdullah Pandit, Mir Shafaqat and Mir Urfi representing Faktoo had argued before the court that there was no sanction from a competent authority for the prosecution of the accused as was required under Explosive Substances Act.
 They pleaded that Additional Sessions Judge North Delhi had acquitted Dr Faktoo in an FIR lodged at Police Station Lahorigate and the accused could not be tried for the same offences in an FIR registered under the section 4/5 Explosive Substances Act here.
  Dr Faktoo had allegedly made a statement before Delhi Police that he had RDX at his home at Soura in Srinagar and a Delhi Court in its decision had acquitted him later. The Soura police had later lodged an FIR against Faktoo after claiming having recovered RDX from his house.
 The Court had recorded the statements of 16 witnesses in the case and none of the statements had gone adverse to Dr Faktoo.
  The J&K High Court has also reserved judgment on a petition seeking Faktoo’s release on the grounds that he has already served life imprisonment.  
 Dr Faktoo has a plea that he completed 20 years in prison which he contends as per Jail Manual and Prison’s Act amounts to life imprisonment and he deserved a release.
 But the government contends that Dr Faktoo has to undergo the sentence of imprisonment for the whole of his remaining life.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 29 Sep 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 29 Sep 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 30 Sep 2012 00:00:00 IST