IHC says sending back reference to NAB not acquittal

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday declared that returning the reference to the NAB was not acquittal of an accused, local media reported.

A single bench of the high court, comprising Justice Arbab Mohammad Tahir, in its detailed verdict on rejecting the petition of Adam Amin Chaudhry of All Pakistan Project, said that the cases were only to be transferred to other relevant courts.

“There is no concept in the law about sending back the reference only to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB),” the bench observed.

“The NAB should extend all possible help to the accountability courts with regard to transfer of cases,” the court ordered the anti-graft watchdog.

“The NAB could file a supplementary reference if new facts are found in the case,” the court observed. “A supplementary reference can be filed with permission of the accountability court,” the bench said.

“The decision of freezing bank accounts in a case could also be overturned by the concerned new courts,” the bench further said.

An accountability court had sent back a reference against the owner of All Pakistan Project Company, Adam Amin Chaudhry, and others.

The reference said that the accused had looted the public in the name of investment through a fake company. The accused had plundered Rs1.8 billion from people while the said company was not even registered.