The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the special prosecutor of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to submit the details of recovery as well as of the audited accounts of the watchdog’s recovery and rewards funds. The order came on a petition in which the vires (powers) of the NAB (Recovery and Reward) Rules 2002 have been challenged by a senior lawyer.
Petitioner Ismat Mehdi said in the petition that the watchdog’s rules had been framed in derogation of Section 34 of the NAB Ordinance, since they were not made for carrying out the purposes of the regulation as outlined in the preamble but rather to provide legal cover to the unjust enrichment of a few officers of the bureau at the expense of the national exchequer.
She said that the impugned rules were framed in 2002 by the then president Pervez Musharraf, who was also the country’s chief executive, in consultation with the then chief justice of Pakistan, adding that the rule-making power was exercised in a manner not contemplated by the law for extraneous considerations and propagation of personal privileges and benefits.
The petitioner said that the mala fide intentions of the then head of state, who framed the impugned rules, is evident on the bare reading of Rule 4(1), which states that there shall be the establishment of a recovery and reward fund that shall consist of NAB’s share in the amount approved by the chief executive.
She said that the Constitution does not envisage a chief executive, as the post was created by the then military ruler to justify his political position and has no place in the scheme of the charter, as Rule 4 of the NAB Rules 2002 runs ultra vires of the Constitution.
Ismat said the amount recovered by NAB officers during the course of their official duties is public money of the taxpayers that is misappropriated for personal gains. Moreover, she added, Rule 4(3)(d) of the NAB Rules that offers bonus for ex-gratia extraordinary performance is in direct conflict with the provisions of Section 10.02 of the NAB employees’ terms and conditions of services.
She said that the impugned NAB Rules 2002 purportedly framed under the NAB Ordinance 1999 ironically enough promote the very evil that the relevant law was promulgated to eradicate, which is the acquisition and retention of ill-gotten gains or pecuniary benefits.
The petitioner said that the impugned NAB Rules 2002 as they are framed are also in stark violation of Articles 4 and 25 of the Constitution as well as fundamental rights, including the right to be treated in accordance with the law and the right to equality of status and opportunity and social and economic justice. She said that the impugned rules not only run contrary to Articles 2A and 31 of the Constitution but they also contradict the injunctions of Islam.
She requested the SHC to declare NAB (Recovery and Reward) Rules 2002 ultra vires of the Constitution and direct the watchdog to provide the details of the audited accounts of the recovery and reward funds under the impugned rules.
She also requested that the court direct the relevant investigating agencies to inquire and probe the pilferage of public money that was misappropriated under the garb of rewards because of the impugned rules and hold NAB accountable for it.
The SHC observed that the amici curiae (friends of the court) have been appointed in the case and could file a written synopsis for the assistance of the court.
The high court directed NAB’s special prosecutor to submit the details of recovery as well as of the audited accounts of the watchdog’s fund established under the 2002 rules along with the names of the fund’s beneficiaries.