SHC denies protective bail to Axact CEO

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday rejected an application of the Axact Chairman and CEO Shoaib Ahmed Sheikh for grant of protective bail in the fake degrees scandal case.
However, the court directed the FIA to conduct it strictly in accordance with the law and avoid causing any sort of harassment or intimidation in any manner whatsoever to the petitioner under the garb of an inquiry initiated against the company.
Meanwhile, the FIA decided to lodge an FIR against Axact. According to sources, the FIR will be registered within 48 hours as new evidence has surfaced against the IT company. The FIR would be registered against the Axact owners and senior officials.
Shoaib A Sheikh appeared before the court for obtaining protective bail and restraining order for the FIA from taking any coercive action against him.The petitioner’s counsel, Anwar Mansoor Khan, submitted that the New York Times had published a negative report alleging the involvement of the petitioner’s company in issuing fake diplomas and degrees to various people, which included foreigners.
He submitted that following the publication of the report, the FIA had launched an inquiry and seized the company’s computers, printers and other equipment, thus crippling its activities.He said the FIA had also taken into custody many employees of the company, forcing his client to approach the court for protective bail.
The counsel contended that the petitioner did not indulge in any illegal activities, including issuance of fake diploma degrees, to students.He said the FIA conducted an inquiry against the company with the sole object to destroy the company on the basis of baseless stories.He further said the petitioner and the company employees were not being allowed to enter their Karachi office.
He said the FIA inquiry was based on mala fide intentions as the company wanted to launch its news channel BOL, which had antagonised and puzzled other media houses, which were hatching a conspiracy against the company.
He said even the CCTV system working at the company office had been closed down. He told the court that the petitioner was willing to cooperate with the FIA and to surrender his original passport to the court.
Additional Attorney General (DAG) Salman Talibuddin objected to the maintainability of the petition submitting that it was premature, as no FIR had yet been lodged against the petitioner.
The additional attorney general, on instructions, further submitted that unless sufficient material connecting the petitioner with the commission of any offence was collected, he would not be arrested.
He was of the view that protective bail was usually granted to an accused in an FIR to appear before relevant forum; however, in the instant case no FIR had been lodged.He dispelled the impression that the Karachi office of the petitioner had been closed down or sealed by the FIA.
The division bench, headed by Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh, after hearing the arguments of the counsel, observed that the counsel for the petitioner had conceded that till date the FIA had not raided the petitioner’s house to arrest him and it appeared that the petitioner had only been asked to provide certain documents/evidence to the FIA about the company’s accounts and offshore companies.
The court observed that the petitioner was not indicted in any FIR till date and his counsel had very candidly conceded that the FIA had the authority to conduct an inquiry or initiate action against the company and an inquiry was underway.
The court refrained from making any observation as it might prejudice the case of either party. However, it dismissed the petition in limine, as it did not have merit and was premature as well.The court, however, directed the FIA to conduct it strictly in accordance with the law and avoid causing any sort of harassment or intimidation in any manner whatsoever to the petitioner under the garb of the inquiry initiated against the company.
Agencies add: Meanwhile, the federal government has decided to register an FIR against the company and also written a letter to the US agency — the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) — seeking its help in probing the multi-million dollar fake degree scandal, officials confirmed on Monday.
“We’ve dispatched a request today,” an official told a media outlet on the condition of anonymity.According to the official, the letter was sent to the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan from where it will be sent to the Pakistan Embassy in the United States for its onward delivery to the State Department.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar has allowed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to seek assistance of foreign experts to probe the scandal, he added.The FIA will be working, along with the FBI and other international agencies, to probe the scam as well as money laundering charges against the company, if any.