Misappropriation in pensions: Court declares NAB’s embezzlement reference null and void

FC junior clerk Sher Bahadur has already paid NAB under the plea bargain system.

PESHAWAR: A reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa at an accountability court regarding embezzlement in pensions of Frontier Constabulary (FC) employees was declared null and void on Friday.

The two-member division bench comprising Justice Nisar Hussain Khan and Justice Asadullah Khan Chamkani also suspended an arrest warrant against the accused Sher Bahadur, a junior clerk, declaring that an accused cannot be sentenced twice for the same crime.



At Friday’s hearing, the bench was informed by Bahadur’s counsel Advocate Aminur Rehman that on April 18, 2006, the accused had settled the case with NAB under its plea bargain system and paid Rs3.04 million after which he was released.

Rehman contended that on November 27, 2013, the NAB chairman once again issued an arrest warrant for the accused in the same case, and filed a reference of corruption worth Rs1.65 million.

“The embezzlement was done from 2001 to 2005 and my client has paid the amount under the plea bargain system so a new reference or arrest warrant cannot be issued,” said Rehman.

He added NAB had earlier released Bahadur but has reissued an arrest warrant which is illegal because an accused cannot be sentenced twice for the same crime.

However, the counsel of NAB informed the bench that the bureau’s reference filed in 2006 was related to the possession of illegal assets, while the one filed in 2013 was regarding embezzlement.

Upon hearing arguments from both sides, the PHC bench declared the NAB reference against Bahadur null and void and suspended the arrest warrant issued against him.

Meanwhile, in a separate case, the same two-member bench issued an order to regularise 500 employees of the Population Welfare Programme working in the field across the province.

Advocate Ijaz Anwar, the counsel for petitioner Naveed, said that the provincial government had started the programme in 2011 and recruited 500 employees for it.

He added the government has extended the programme till June 30, 2014 and included it in its annual budget, however, it also issued notices to remove the 500 employees so as to hire new ones.

Anwar further said removing the employees from their posts is illegal because they are already working in the project and are well-versed with the working conditions and requirements.

In response, the court issued an order to the provincial government to regularise the employees of the programme. 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 28^th, 2014.