Former Ogra chief Tauqir Sadiq. PHOTO: FILE.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed a petition in the Supreme Court on Saturday seeking cancellation of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority’s ex-chairman Tauqir Sadiq’s bail over fears that he may try to flee the country.
“The accused has already been brought back from the UAE after a long legal battle. There is every apprehension that he will misuse the concession of bail and will try to flee away as per his earlier attempts,” the corruption watchdog said in its petition against Islamabad High Court’s order.
“It is, therefore, humbly prayed that the order dated March 13, 2014 may be set aside and the bail granted ... may be recalled in the interest of justice,” said the petition.
On March 12, a division bench of the IHC had accepted bail application of Sadiq, the main accused in the multi-million rupee scam, against surety bonds worth one million and two personal guarantees.
One of the pleas Sadiq’s lawyer took before the IHC was that his confinement period, starting from January 28, 2013 when arrested in Dubai, till now is more than 13 months and as per NAB ordinance an accused is liable to be granted bail when the prosecution could not prove anything for more than a year.
Objecting to the high court’s order, NAB Prosecutor General K K Agha posed 12 questions of law in the petition.
The authority contended that it filed a reference against Sadiq in the light of an SC order of November 25, 2011. The arrest warrants of the accused were issued by NAB on May 14, 2012, however, he managed to leave Pakistan in order to avoid arrest and prosecution.
The petition stated that the IHC judgment [granting bail] was passed without “application of judicial mind” and “in oblivion to the judgment of the SC.”
The prosecutor questioned whether the concession could be extended to an absconder who was brought back to Pakistan through extradition proceedings.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 16th, 2014.
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