SHC grants bail to ex-KDA DG, others in case of illegal allotments

Accused claims the plots in question belonged to private persons and no loss was incurred by the government

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) accepted the bail plea of former Karachi Development Authority (KDA) Director-General Nasir Abbas, besides those of eight other accused, in a reference pertaining to the illegal allotment of plots.

Justice Iqbal Kalhoro and Justice Shamsuddin Abbasi announced the judgment on the bail plea, while directing the accused to deposit Rs1 million each as surety money.

Suspect Amir Naqvi maintained that the three plots in question belonged to private persons and had brought no loss to the government. He said that all the legal requirements were fulfilled for transferring the plots.

The National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) prosecutor maintained that the suspects had sold government plots by making fake lease papers. A reference against the suspects has been filed. According to the NAB, the suspects are accused of illegally transferring three costly plots in Gulistan-e-Jauhar.

Permission for Hajj

In a separate case, the same SHC bench issued notice to the NAB, seeking its response to a petition filed by Agha Masihuddin, whereby he has requested to be able to travel for Hajj. Masihuddin is one of the accused in the Rs1.4 billion corruption reference filed against Sindh Assembly speaker Agha Siraj Durrani and several others.

The petitioner's counsel maintained that Masihuddin is seeking permission to travel abroad to fulfill the religious obligation. The court issued notice to the NAB for August 1. According to NAB, suspect Masihuddin, Gulzar and Ahmed including others have secured interim bails.

Amendments in NAB law

In yet another case, the same bench issued notices to the NAB prosecutor-general, Attorney General of Pakistan and several other parties over a petition pertaining to the authority of the trial court to grant bail to the suspects arrested under the NAB law.

The petitioner's counsel maintained that the trial court has no authority to grant bail to a suspect arrested under the NAB law. Only the high court is authorised to hear bail pleas. Owing to the lack of authority of the trial court, suspects are deprived of a fundamental right, the petitioner argued. He requested the court to direct the parliament to amend the NAB law, as it denied suspects their fundamental rights in its current form.

Justice Kalhoro questioned how a court could order the parliament to do anything.

The petitioner's counsel maintained that the current Chief Justice of Pakistan, in his writ, had stated that the parliament should legislate over it. He maintained that owing to the law, the pressure of cases had been mounting in the high courts. The court remarked that when the Supreme Court cannot order the parliament to legislate, how could the high court. It, however, sought written replies by issuing notice to the parties. 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 30^th, 2019.