K-P Ehtesab Commission Act challenged in high court

The commission went 'beyond powers stipulated in the National Accountability Ordinance and Anti-Corruption Act'

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission Act 2014 was challenged in the Peshawar High Court on Thursday for going beyond powers stipulated in the National Accountability Ordinance and Anti-Corruption Act.

The legislation was challenged through a petition which sought to declare the arrest of Noor Daraz Khattak, father of a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPA, as illegal.

The petition was filed through Counsel Aminur Rehman. It listed secretaries of cabinet division and law and parliamentary affairs, K-P chief secretary, Ehtesab Commission’s director general, its prosecutor general, investigation officer, prosecutor general, K-P advocate general, attorney general of Pakistan and Ehtesab court judge as respondents in the case.

Questions and answers

According to the petition, Noor Daraz was arrested under the law on April 17 in a corruption case. However, no lawful reasons for his arrest have been disclosed and the detainee has not been allowed to meet his family or his attorney.

The petition has raised a series of questions on the basis of which the detention should be deemed illegal and the legislation struck down. For instance, it questions whether the act has been given retrospective effect and asks whether a government servant of BPS-19 can be taken into custody without permission from the relevant department.

Moreover, the petition has raised questions about whether the 2014 legislation can be brought into effect in the presence of National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999 and Anti-Corruption Act (ACA) 1947.

“Similarly, we want to know if a person who is arrested can be detained in custody without being informed of the grounds of arrest,” stated the petition.

In addition, the petition has sought answers on whether the Ehtesab Commission can initiate parallel proceedings with the National Accountability Bureau.

The petition also demanded to know whether the commission can deprive citizens from their right of life and liberty on the basis of allegations without issuing a notice before the arrest.

According to the petition, the detainee is innocent and has been wrongly accused in the case. Moreover, charges levelled against the detainee do not correspond with the role attributed to him. “The allegations against the detainee do not constitute an offence under the 2014 legislation,” stated the petition. “In fact, the allegations cannot be termed an offence under the Pakistan Penal Code or any other law.”

The petitioner said proceedings in the case are coram non judice (not before a judge) and carry no legal weight.

A division bench comprising Justice Asadullah Khan Chamkani and Justice Lal Jan Khattak has issued notices to the respondents.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 1^st, 2015.