Jaffer Sharief, Jain bros dischared in hawala case

Special Judge V B Gupta on Tuesday discharged former railway minister C K Jaffer Sharief and the four Jain brothers in the Rs 650 million hawala case.

In his order, Judge Gupta said there was no material on record to show that any favour had been shown by Sharief to the four co-accused -- S K Jain, J K Jain, B R Jain and N K Jain -- which could amount to 'criminal misconduct.'

Earlier, the Delhi high court had quashed proceedings against Bharatiya Janata Party president L K Advani and Congress leader V C Shukla in the case. The high court had held that loose sheets and diaries could not be taken as legal evidence.

Of 35 chargesheets filed in the special hawala court, 19 politicians including Sharief have been discharged so far. Arguments on the alleged involvement of nine politicians are still on.

Meanwhile, the high court on Tuesday issued notices to former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha, P Shiv Shanker and Ajit Kumar Panja, former Uttar Pradesh governor Motilal Vora and the Jain brothers on the Central Bureau of Investigation's criminal revision petition filed in the same case.

UNI