Graft charges: Auditor general appears before top judicial council

Five-member body is hearing a reference filed by the parliamentary watchdog

ISLAMABAD:

Auditor General of Pakistan Buland Akhtar Rana on Thursday appeared for the first time before the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) in connection with a corruption reference sent by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The five-member council, headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, has resumed the hearing of the matter. AGP Buland Akhtar appeared in person at the hearing, choosing to contest the case himself.

The council comprises the CJP, two senior most SC judges Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Sindh High Court Chief Justice Maqbool Baqir and Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Anwar Kasi.

The National Assembly secretary and one senior law officer deputed by the attorney general were also presented during the council’s proceeding, which was held in-camera in courtroom No 7.  Supreme Court registrar Tahir Shahbaz was also present.

Sources said the council has agreed upon the procedure for the proceedings. At the next date of the hearing (December 11), the complainant will submit evidence against the AGP.

The National Assembly had filed a complaint after a recommendation by the PAC sub-committee for disqualification of Rana as auditor general. It is the first time in the country’s history that a complaint has been filed in the SJC seeking the AGP’s disqualification.

Earlier, the SJC had issued a show cause notice to the AGP to file a reply within 14 days on allegations of corruption against him by the PAC.

Rana in his reply rejected the charges raised by the National Assembly panel.

On the last date of the hearing, the council has examined AGP’s reply on November 17 and decided to summon him at the next date of the hearing.

The PAC in August had constituted a sub-committee to probe the allegations against Rana. The committee discovered that there was some truth to the allegations and recommended that a reference be filed for his disqualification under the Article 209 (5) read with Article 168 (5) of the Constitution.

PAC Chairman Khursheed Shah had presented a fact-finding report in the National Assembly on August 11.

The report revealed how the AGP had withdrawn Rs4.62 million from the exchequer on account of excess salary and privileges in violation of standard rules and regulations.

The findings added that Rana was getting 20 per cent additional salary in comparison with a Grade 22 officer, and under the monetisation policy, he availed more than Rs3.1 million between January and March 2014.

It said that matters of revised pay slip and provisional payments to the AGP were deliberately kept hidden for attaining particular financial benefits.

The committee also recommended recovering an amount of Rs4.62 million from Rana.

The fact-finding report also said that during the course of the committee proceedings, several complaints were received in the PAC wing against the AGP that includes his Canadian nationality and passport without obtaining prior approval of the government; foreign visits without lawful permissions; possession of four different passports: three Pakistani and one Canadian, and availing long periods of leave to complete the residence requirements in Canada for immigration purposes, among other alleged abuses of power.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 28^th, 2014.