Rental power projects case: Apex court orders NAB to submit all inquiry files
Says plea bargaining invalid after the verdict had been announced.
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) authorities to submit all inquiry files pertaining to the rental power projects (RPPs) by October 1 so that hearings could be initiated on a case-by-case basis.
The Supreme Court was hearing the contempt of court case against NAB Chairman Fasih Bokhari and seven other NAB officials for not implementing its verdict in the RPPs case.
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.
The chief justice (CJ) remarked that court had rescinded all RPP contracts by declaring them illegal and non-transparent on March 30 and directed NAB to proceed against the people who caused billions of rupees in losses to the national kitty.
“Why has NAB not taken action against the then water and power minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf who had admitted during the case proceedings that four rental power projects were unsolicited?” asked the CJ.
The bench said that plea bargaining was not valid after the verdict had been announced.
NAB Prosecutor General K K Agha said as per National Accountability Ordinance if an accused returned the misappropriated amount, the cases against him would end and he would not be prosecuted. NAB’s prime responsibility was the recovery of an embezzled amount, Agha said.
The chief justice said the objective of the verdict was to create deterrence against corrupt elements, but after a lapse of six months, NAB was not taking any action.
Justice Khawaja questioned as to what was preventing NAB from going after the accused. He observed that $10 million had already been recovered on the court’s direction.
Agha said there was no need to rush to any conclusion and defended the plea bargain.
The chief justice said: “Look, you are under notice now – the court will start hearing the matter on a case by case [basis] after getting inquiry files from you.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2012.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) authorities to submit all inquiry files pertaining to the rental power projects (RPPs) by October 1 so that hearings could be initiated on a case-by-case basis.
The Supreme Court was hearing the contempt of court case against NAB Chairman Fasih Bokhari and seven other NAB officials for not implementing its verdict in the RPPs case.
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.
The chief justice (CJ) remarked that court had rescinded all RPP contracts by declaring them illegal and non-transparent on March 30 and directed NAB to proceed against the people who caused billions of rupees in losses to the national kitty.
“Why has NAB not taken action against the then water and power minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf who had admitted during the case proceedings that four rental power projects were unsolicited?” asked the CJ.
The bench said that plea bargaining was not valid after the verdict had been announced.
NAB Prosecutor General K K Agha said as per National Accountability Ordinance if an accused returned the misappropriated amount, the cases against him would end and he would not be prosecuted. NAB’s prime responsibility was the recovery of an embezzled amount, Agha said.
The chief justice said the objective of the verdict was to create deterrence against corrupt elements, but after a lapse of six months, NAB was not taking any action.
Justice Khawaja questioned as to what was preventing NAB from going after the accused. He observed that $10 million had already been recovered on the court’s direction.
Agha said there was no need to rush to any conclusion and defended the plea bargain.
The chief justice said: “Look, you are under notice now – the court will start hearing the matter on a case by case [basis] after getting inquiry files from you.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2012.