A banking court in Karachi has transferred a multibillion scam case of the M6 (Hyderabad-Sukkur) motorway to a Hyderabad accountability court for its disposal according to the law.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman moved an application under Section 16-A of the National Accountability Ordinance 1999, seeking the transfer of the case to the accountability court in Hyderabad.
Judge Muhammad Saad Qureshi, in-charge presiding officer of the court, announced his order earlier reserved after hearing arguments on the bureau’s plea.
“Since the investigation has been taken up by the NAB, Karachi, therefore instant application is allowed,” he ruled.
He observed that the plain reading of Section 16-A of the NAB Ordinance clearly reflected that notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, the NAB chairman may apply to any court of law or tribunal for transfer of a case involving a scheduled offence pending before such court or tribunal and on receipt of such application, such court or tribunal shall transfer the said case to any court established under ibid.
The judge remarked that the object of the special law was to expedite disposal of cases involving corruption, corrupt practices, misuse of power, misappropriation of property and matters connected thereto under the ordinance and to avoid procedural delays and technicalities.
NAB prosecutor Muhammad Asghar Malik argued that the accused named in the case committed offence of corruption and corrupt practices, causing a loss to the national exchequer. The NAB Ordinance has an overriding effect over all the existing laws in force, he said, adding that a separate case involving the same scam pending before a Hyderabad anti-corruption court had already been transferred to the accountability court as the trial of the same offence by two different forums was s violation of Article 13 of the Constitution of Pakistan and Section 403 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
“Therefore, in order to avoid the above legal position, it is expedient that the above noted case may be transferred under Section 16-A of the NAB Ordinance to the Accountability Court Hyderabad,” he said.
The prosecutor further explained that the transfer of the case was also necessary for avoiding possible conflicting judgments and that there was reasonable possibility of recovery of the embezzled amount through the process of plea bargain under Section 25(b) of the accountability law.
Federal Investigation Agency Assistant Director (Legal) Muhammad Faisal didn’t object to the anti-corruption watchdog’s plea.
Earlier, FIA had filed an interim charge sheet against former Naushero Feroze deputy commissioner Muhammad Tashfeen Alam, three Sindh Bank officials – Mukhtiar Ali Chandio, Atta Hussain Sahito and Zeeshan Ali Larik --, Muhammad Saood-ul-Haq, Asghar Jatoi, Rehmatullah Solangi and Tharu Khan Pahor. Later, Arifa Zia was also named in the final charge sheet.
According to the charge sheet, an FIR was filed on the complaint of Prakash Lohano, the general manager of the National Highway Authority, who stated that a fact-finding committee, formed by the Sindh government, revealed in a report that the NHA, being the land acquisition agency, disbursed funds amounting to Rs3,618 million to Naushero Feroze’s then deputy commissioner Muhammad Tashfeen Alam, notified as a land acquisition collector, for the purchase of 1,500 acres of land in the district for the M6 project.
But the suspect, in collusion with officials of the Sindh Bank and others, misappropriated the government funds to the tune of Rs3.4 billion during the period between June 2022 and November 2022, he added.