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Former Indian cricketer and Vadodara resident Jacob Martin has been acquitted of all charges by the Patiala House Court in a 22-year-old criminal case which stemmed from a 2004 FIR involving charges under Sections 420, 468, 471, and 120B of the IPC, as well as Section 12 of the Passport Act.
Allegations against Jacob regarding a forged UK immigration stamp, travel arrangements, and financial transactions could not be proven. The court observed that there was no credible evidence regarding financial transactions or his ownership or control of the Ajwa Sports Club. Several witnesses also failed to substantiate the allegations. Consequently, Jacob Martin was acquitted and subsequently presented his side to the media. Speaking to the media, Martin said the case arose after a member of his 2004 team overstayed his UK visa and returned to India after obtaining a fake immigration stamp. He said his name was later added during the investigation despite not being mentioned in the original FIR, which he attributed to his profile as an international cricketer. Martin said the 22-year-old case caused him significant stress, including the loss of his railway job, and added that his acquittal has brought a major sense of relief and marked a turning point in his life. "In 2004 a team of mine had gone, which had gone to the UK to play. That team which went to play in England in 2004, everyone came back except one boy who stayed back in the UK. Because the visa had a validity of 6 months, he could stay for 6 months, but he overstayed for more than 6 months, so what happened was that he got fake stamping done there through someone. After getting fake stamping done, when he came back to India, he was deported from the UK, so he was caught at the IGI airport, and then he was questioned," Martin said. "My name was not even in the FIR, but when the investigation took place, I was involved in this case because the name was big and I was an international cricketer, because of that. And after the case ended, this... now, after 22 years... during these 22 years, I was not getting any answers from the BCCI either; I lost my job in the railways. So I had a lot of stress because of this, but this judgment that has come now- I have got a clean chit; it will be a big settlement for my life and very... after 22 years, this... appeal I have received is a very big U-turn for my life," he added. Jacob Martin, a right-handed batter, played 10 ODIs for India, scoring 158 runs at an average of 22.57. (ANI)
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