PHC orders release of Masoom Shah on bail

Accountability Court had rejected plea bargain by accused

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday issued the release order of Syed Masoom Shah, who served as special assistant to former chief minister Ameer Haider Hoti, on bail till approval of his plea bargain application by the Accountability Court.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Muhammad Younas Thaheem allowed the writ petition of Masoom Shah and the National accountability Bureau (NAB) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa filed against the Accountability Court decision. The Accountability Court had rejected the plea bargain application of Masoom Shah approved by the NAB chairman and directed that a reference be filed against him.

The PHC declared the decision of Accountability Court against the plea bargain application of Masoom Shah as void. However, it directed that the name of Masoom Shah be put in the Exit Control List (ECL) till clearance of his plea bargain.

The bench asked the petitioner to furnish two personnel surety bonds worth Rs5 million for his release on bail.During the hearing, the petitioner’s lawyers Barrister Zahoorul Haq and Barrister Waqar Khan submitted that their client had first applied for voluntary return in the case of accumulation of illegal assets in 2015, but the offer was rejected by the NAB chairman and his case was converted into investigation.

They informed the bench that to avail another legal remedy under the National Accountability Ordinance, the petitioner straightaway filed an application for plea bargain. They added that the NAB chairman on December 3, 2015 approved his application, but the Accountability Court twice returned it to the NAB with certain objections.

The lawyers submitted that the Accountability Court had put up eight queries to the NAB and the petitioner instead of allowing the plea bargain application.They stated that the petitioner’s plea bargain was accepted by the competent authority and he deposited Rs91,750,000 as down payment and two bank guarantees of Rs153,000,000. Besides, the NAB was already in possession of 390 tolas of gold owned and recovered from Masoom Shah.

The lawyers said Accountability Court erred by issuing direction to the NAB for completion of the investigation and filing of a reference against the accused.They said the Accountability Court had completely misinterpreted Section 25 of the National Accountability Ordinance and exercised jurisdiction that wasn’t vested in it.

The deputy prosecutor general NAB, Jamil Khan, submitted that the Accountability Court under the law could not issue direction to the NAB to complete investigation and file a reference.He said the role of the trial court in the plea bargain application was only to see whether it was done under the law or not.

The prosecutor said the Accountability Court judge overstepped his powers to reject the plea bargain approved by the NAB chairman and thus the decision be declared void. He said acceptance of plea bargain is conviction and under the law it was not possible to file a reference against the accused after being convicted.

In the Accountability Court’s judgment on the plea bargain application of the NAB for the release and acquittal of Masoom Shah, the court had directed the NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to complete investigation into the case without any further delay and file a reference against the accused within a fortnight.

The Accountability Court’s judge, Muhammad Ibrahim Khan, had stated in the judgment that the accountability courts were not rubber-stamps to approve whatever was placed before them. Rather, he argued that these courts had the power to check the plea bargain agreement approved by the NAB chairman.

The Accountability Court had also ordered the freezing of Rs258.75 million that the accused Masoom Shah, had offered for settlement to the NAB on account of plea bargain. It had asked the NAB to investigate whether the said money had been acquired through legal or illegitimate means.It may be mentioned that Muhammad Ibrahim Khan recently completed his term as the Accountability Court judge and has been replaced by another judge.