ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has acquitted Sardar Hussain in a case involving the embezzlement of approximately Rs 7.7 million from the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB).
Initially convicted by an Accountability Court and later by the Peshawar High Court—which sentenced him to three years’ rigorous imprisonment and imposed a substantial fine—Hussain challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court. A three-member bench, headed by Justice Athar Minallah and comprising Justices Irfan Saadat Khan and Malik Shahzad Ahmed Khan, allowed his appeal on 6 June 2025, setting aside the earlier convictions by extending the benefit of doubt.
The Supreme Court held that the prosecution failed to prove Hussain’s involvement in the alleged crime under Section 9(a)(vi) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999. The judgement highlighted that the actual embezzlement was carried out by co-accused Aleem Mahmood, who admitted to forging cheques and tampering with deposit records, but failed to provide credible evidence implicating Hussain. The Supreme Court noted that procedural lapses in Hussain’s role could not be categorised as criminal misuse of authority, and that departmental inquiries had already exonerated him. It further observed that NAB had not produced any wealth or asset records linking Hussain or his associates to unlawful gain.
A PTB fact-finding committee also did not hold Hussain responsible, identifying flaws in the accounting system and naming Aleem Mahmood and others as primarily responsible. Although Hussain had already served his sentence, the Supreme Court considered his acquittal on merit, concluding that the prosecution’s case lacked evidence and therefore warranted setting aside both the trial court and high court verdicts.