Ongoing battles: Ehtesab courts to resume hearings
PHC restrains them from final judgments; attorney general, NAB on notice
Peshawar High Court. PHOTO: PPI
PESHAWAR:
A larger bench of the Peshawar High Court on Friday withdrew its interim order and allowed Ehtesab Courts (EC) to continue hearing under-trial corruption cases. However, it restrained the courts from issuing final judgment unless the high court makes a decision on the constitutional petitions challenging the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission Act (KPECA) 2015.
The five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel was hearing petitions against the commission and its constitutional status. It also put the attorney general and National Accountability Bureau on notice after the K-P advocate general claimed the NAB Ordinance (NAO) 1999 was no longer applicable to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in light of Article 270-AA(6).
When the hearing commenced, Additional Advocate General Umer Farooq Adam rejected the petitioners’ claim that no accountability law could be introduced with the NAB ordinance still in existence. “In fact, corruption even increased with this [ordinance] which needed improvements,” he argued.
Insisting KPECA did not create any conflict, he argued Section 25-A of the NAB Ordinance allowed voluntary return of looted money. If the suspects refuse, an enquiry could be initiated against them. He believed voluntary return was a “blackmailing” tactic to reach a plea bargain and so the suspect could continue his job. He contended the misuse of authority through the voluntary return system had rendered the NAB Ordinance ineffective and led to an increase in corruption.
Adam claimed NAB took a portion of the looted money as commission and there was neither an internal audit system nor any self-accountability.
“On the other hand, the KPECA Act gave autonomy to the Ehtesab Commission which could contain corruption in any provincial institution,” he argued. Adam appreciated the method of appointment of the commission’s director general who was found through a search and scrutiny committee.
EC Prosecutor General Syed Yahya Zahid Gillani, in his argument, supported Advocate General Abdul Latif Yousafzai’s views. He contended that suspects were misusing the interim order of the bench which stopped Ehtesab Courts from hearing under-trial cases. “The suspects have now moved the Supreme Court for relief and to get bail,” he informed the bench.
Additional Deputy Prosecutor General Qazi Babar Irshad, Zahid Aman and Lajbar Khan said the concurrent list has been abolished after the passage of the 18th Constitutional Amendment, thus empowering provinces to introduce their own laws.
They said impartiality was the topmost priority when appointing the director general of the EC. The lawyers argued under Section 16 of the KPECA, there is an internal monitoring system, while the DG was vigilant over the performance of investigation officers.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2015.
A larger bench of the Peshawar High Court on Friday withdrew its interim order and allowed Ehtesab Courts (EC) to continue hearing under-trial corruption cases. However, it restrained the courts from issuing final judgment unless the high court makes a decision on the constitutional petitions challenging the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission Act (KPECA) 2015.
The five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel was hearing petitions against the commission and its constitutional status. It also put the attorney general and National Accountability Bureau on notice after the K-P advocate general claimed the NAB Ordinance (NAO) 1999 was no longer applicable to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in light of Article 270-AA(6).
When the hearing commenced, Additional Advocate General Umer Farooq Adam rejected the petitioners’ claim that no accountability law could be introduced with the NAB ordinance still in existence. “In fact, corruption even increased with this [ordinance] which needed improvements,” he argued.
Insisting KPECA did not create any conflict, he argued Section 25-A of the NAB Ordinance allowed voluntary return of looted money. If the suspects refuse, an enquiry could be initiated against them. He believed voluntary return was a “blackmailing” tactic to reach a plea bargain and so the suspect could continue his job. He contended the misuse of authority through the voluntary return system had rendered the NAB Ordinance ineffective and led to an increase in corruption.
Adam claimed NAB took a portion of the looted money as commission and there was neither an internal audit system nor any self-accountability.
“On the other hand, the KPECA Act gave autonomy to the Ehtesab Commission which could contain corruption in any provincial institution,” he argued. Adam appreciated the method of appointment of the commission’s director general who was found through a search and scrutiny committee.
EC Prosecutor General Syed Yahya Zahid Gillani, in his argument, supported Advocate General Abdul Latif Yousafzai’s views. He contended that suspects were misusing the interim order of the bench which stopped Ehtesab Courts from hearing under-trial cases. “The suspects have now moved the Supreme Court for relief and to get bail,” he informed the bench.
Additional Deputy Prosecutor General Qazi Babar Irshad, Zahid Aman and Lajbar Khan said the concurrent list has been abolished after the passage of the 18th Constitutional Amendment, thus empowering provinces to introduce their own laws.
They said impartiality was the topmost priority when appointing the director general of the EC. The lawyers argued under Section 16 of the KPECA, there is an internal monitoring system, while the DG was vigilant over the performance of investigation officers.
Dismissing the occupied field theory, they pointed out banking courts, anti-corruption and customs laws existed when the NAB Ordinance was introduced. The court adjourned the hearing till Monday and issued a notice to the attorney general to assist the bench on the point of the NAB Ordinance’s inapplicability in K-P.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2015.