Court rejects Sharjeel’s plea to declare reference void

Seeks former minister’s medical report from jail authorities

KARACHI: The accountability court on Saturday rejected applications from former Sindh information minister Sharjeel Memon and others for declaring void a corruption reference against them, and ordered the jail authorities to produce Sharjeel’s medical report.

Sharjeel Memon and other accused were produced before the court on charges of Rs5.76 billion corruption in Sindh information department.

One of the accused in the case, Inam Akbar, has not yet been arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) even 28 days after the arrest orders had been issued.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has already rejected bails for all accused in the case.



However, another accused Yousuf Kaboro, who had got bail from the Supreme Court, appeared before the court on Saturday.

The court rejected three applications filed by Sharjeel and others in which they had appealed that since the charge-sheet was not issued to them, the reference be declared void for non-fulfilment of legal requirements. They have already filed an application against non-provision of some of the documents.

Sharjeel had also filed an application for setting up a medical board. His counsel, Amir Raza Naqvi, told the court that his client was not being provided adequate medical facilities in the jail and accused the authorities of citing court orders against providing him with proper medical facilities. He said that proper medical care was the right of his client.

Sharjeel had called for setting up a medical board, comprising his personal doctors. Naqvi said the court could also select members of the board at its own discretion.

The judge of the accountability court remarked that Sharjeel was a “persistently sick person” and the entire hospital staff could be shifted to the jail for his caretaking.

Some accused, he said, opted to go to hospital immediately after appearing in the court. “All accused must be treated equally.”



Naqvi asked the court to seek reports from the doctors who had checked his client, and order provision of treatment in accordance with those reports.

To this, the judge asked as to who would end the VIP culture. Naqvi pointed out that there were government servants who did not use official protocol.

The judge later adjourned the hearing till November 24. It is likely that the charge-sheet will be read out to the accused in the next hearing.

Earlier, Sharjeel got out of an APC with the support of two persons. He said he suffered from chronic pain in his spinal column which was why he was unable to attend the Sindh Assembly session.