RPP cases: SC orders NAB to present all inquiry files

Court says plea bargaining was useless after verdict was given, adjourns hearing till October11.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday, while hearing the case pertaining to show cause notices issued for contempt of court against the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Fasih Bukhari and seven other NAB officials, ordered the bureau to submit, case by case, all inquiry files pertaining to the rental power projects (RPP).

A three-member bench presided by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and comprising Justices Jawwad S Khawaja and Khilji Arif Hussain was hearing the case in which the court had issued show cause notices to the NAB officials for not implementing its verdict.

During the hearing, the displeased bench reprimanded the officials for not implementing an order which was issued earlier and said that plea bargaining was not valid after the verdict that was announced.

Justice Khawaja told the officials that the task could have been handed over to investigating officers.

The bench was irked at their inaction, especially since Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf had admitted that all projects had not been delivered.

The court then ordered the officials to present all inquiry files case by case and adjourned the hearing till October 1.

Earlier, the court had directed NAB to conduct investigations against those who were responsible for discrepancies worth billions to the national treasury.

The deputy prosecutor general had told the court that no arrests had been made yet because NAB was “plea bargaining” with the accused.