Passing it on: SHC bench refuses to hear Dr Asim’s bail plea

Judges have referred the Rs17.34 billion corruptioncase to chief justice

KARACHI: A two-judge bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC) dismissed on Friday an application seeking an urgent hearing on the bail application of former petroleum minister Dr Asim Hussain in a Rs17.34 billion corruption reference.

Headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto, the bench referred the matter to the provincial chief justice to assign it to the same bench that had recently granted him post-arrest bail in a case relating to providing shelter and treatment to alleged militants belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and gangs based in Lyari at his private health facilities.

After four previous benches had declined to hear the case, a division bench headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar had granted bail to Dr Asim but barred him from leaving the country, as it ordered him to deposit his passport with the court. On Friday, a miscellaneous application was moved to seek urgent hearing on his pending bail plea in connection with a Rs17.34 billion corruption scam.

The National Accountability Bureau had filed a reference against Dr Asim, naming some top officials of the Sui Southern Gas Company and Oil and Gas Development Company as accused. The bureau charge-sheeted Dr Asim and the others for allegedly misusing their authority and fraudulently awarding contracts of five gas fields to a privately managed gas processing company. This caused losses of Rs17.34 billion to the national exchequer.

Dismissing the urgent application, the bench referred the matter to the CJ to assign it to the same bench that had granted bail to Dr Asim in another case on Thursday.

Meanwhile, another bench, headed by Justice Munib Akhtar, put off hearing a plea of Dr Asim in connection with a Rs460 billion corruption reference, also filed by the national anti-graft watchdog.

It alleged that Dr Asim is involved in corruption of over Rs460 billion through fraudulent allotment of land, encroachment upon state land for expansion of his hospital, money laundering, commission through fertiliser cartel for illegal curtailment of gas and fraud with the public in the name of a charity hospital.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 5^th, 2016.