Srinagar, Jan. 31 -- Rejecting the plea of several former bureaucrats that they cannot be prosecuted for misconduct in the implementation of the Roshni Act since the law has already been scrapped, the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court on Friday held that "the mere fact that the Roshni Act has been declared unconstitutional would not save their actions."

Justice Sanjay Dhar, while disposing of 11 petitions filed by former bureaucrats and beneficiaries under the Roshni Act-including Basharat Ahmad Dhar, Iftikhar-ul-Hassnain Bari, Sheikh Ejaz Iqbal, Sheikh Mehboob Iqbal, Mushtaq Ahmed Malik, and others-observed that the petitioners were being investigated and prosecuted for offences under the J&K Prevention of Corruption Act (P.C. Act) ...