SHC refuses bail to banker imprisoned for Rs78 million fraud

The Sindh High Court (SHC) dismissed bail plea of a banker, filed in a Rs78.4 million fraud case, but directed the trial court to decide the case within two months, on Tuesday.

Applicant, Syed Salahuddin, former operations manager of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), was facing a trial before the accountability court pertaining to misappropriation of money worth Rs78.4 million along with another co-accused.

According to the prosecution, the accused serving as operations manager at the NBP’s branch located on Shaheed Millat road manipulated a fake inter-branch entry of Rs78.4 million, and later adjusted it with the purchase of prize bonds causing loss to the national exchequer.

The applicant’s counsel sought the bail of the accused on grounds of a statutory delay in trial, maintaining that his client had been incarcerated for the last two years.

However, the prosecution’s counsel opposed the plea arguing that the trial of the accused was on the verge of a conclusion and only one witness was left to be deposed before the trial court. The court after hearing the counsel’s arguments dismissed the bail application and directed the trial court to decide the case within two months.

 

Notice to NAB

The SHC issued notices to the National Accountability Bureau’s deputy prosecutor general and others on petitions of government officers seeking transfer of their trials from accountability courts.

Petitioners Tanvir Ahmed Tahir and Dr Asghar Abbas Sheikh, a police officer and director Katchi Abadis Authority’s medical service Karachi, submitted that they were being prosecuted by the NAB for alleged corruption of Rs50 million and Rs26 million in violation of the investigative agency’s own rules, as per which the NAB was only to carryout investigation against corruption cases worth over Rs100 million.

They submitted that NAB had no jurisdiction to decide the cases and requested the court to transfer the trial proceedings to the concerned anti-corruption court having jurisdiction under the law.

 

Detention cases

The SHC directed the federal and provincial law officers to file comments on petition against detention of citizens allegedly by the personnel of law enforcement agencies.

Petitioner Mirza Amir Bakht, Yousuf Khan, Sana Rehan and Khalilul Bashr submitted in the petitions that personnel of law enforcement agencies picked up Omer, Wasif Khan, Mohammad Rehan and Mohammad Younus in separate raids conducted in Eidgah, Scheme 33, FB Area and Landhi, but their whereabouts remain unknown ever since.

The petitioners submitted that the police was not disclosing details of cases against the detainees and feared for their lives. They sought production of the detainees and details of the cases against which they had been detained.