Customs inspector arrested for assets beyond means gets bail

Court considers weak FIR, addition of irrelevant clauses in case

HYDERABAD:

A customs inspector arrested two months ago for recovery of assets worth hundreds of millions of rupees from his residence has been granted bail against submission of a surety of Rs1 million by the Sindh High Court Hyderabad Circuit Bench on Monday.

The Hyderabad Circuit Bench cited a weak FIR, inserting an arguably irrelevant section of the law and omission in considering and investigating living of an extended combined family under one-roof as the reasons behind approving bail of Syed Mohsin Shah.

A team of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had arrested Shah and his son, Syed Ameer Shah, in a raid at their residence in Hyderabad on September 20.

The team allegedly recovered licensed and unlicensed expensive weapons, non-custom paid vehicles, trophy animals, jewellery, expensive watches, mobile phones, laptops, play station games and cash.

An FIR was lodged under sections 5 (2) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, and 156 of the Customs Act, 1969, read with Section 109 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on the complaint of FIA's Sub Inspector Ghulam Akbar Soomro.

It later also emerged that the accused are managing an unauthorised zoo at Sindh Farmhouse, on a 16 acres piece of land in Deh Narejani in Hyderabad taluka. Subsequently, Sindh Wildlife Department also geared into action and registered two FIRs against them under the sections of the Sindh Wildlife Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management Act, 2020. One case pertained to stuffed trophies of one Ibex and five Chinkara deers and the other for operating the zoo.

"... it is an admitted fact that recoveries have been made from the house where numerous other persons are also living, therefore, it cannot be ascertained that these recoveries all actually belong to [the] applicant [Shah]," the SHC observed. "Especially when said recoveries include laptops and play stations." The court underlined the need of 'further inquiry' before concluding that all the recovered assets belonged to the accused.

The court also noted that no reference about the actual source of income of Shah has been mentioned either in the FIR or in the challan. "It is a fundamental principle that in the case of assets beyond known source of income all income of the applicant [accused] is to be collected first, which might include his salary, agricultural or any other income." The bench also stated that the case in question is triable by a special court and which does not necessitate section 156 of the Customs Act.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 21^st, 2023.