PHC issues notice to NAB officials in appeal against acquittal

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday issued a notice to director general of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and an investigation officer in an appeal filed against their acquittal in case of torture on an accused in custody. 

A single bench of Justice Ikramullah Khan admitted the appeal for hearing. The court issued the notice in an appeal filed by Saiqa Gul Khitab against the decision of subordinate court in which Additional District and Sessions Judge Abid Sarwar had acquitted the DG of NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shahzad Saleem and investigation officer Umar Butt of charges of torturing her father Sardar Gul Khitab, who was an employee of the NAB, in custody.

During the course of hearing, the petitioner’s lawyer Sardar Ali Raza submitted before the bench that the NAB arrested Sardar Gul Khitab on April 23, 2015 and then produced him before the accountability court for obtaining his physical custody, whereby the court granted two days custody of the appellant’s father allegedly arrested in a bribery case in the NAB.  

He submitted that during the NAB’s further seven days custody, the appellant claimed that her father was brutally tortured by the respondents on the night of May 5, 2015 and he was then taken to hospital for check-up when he fell unconscious due to torture.

The lawyer submitted that the appellant then wanted to get registered a first information report (FIR) against the officials, but the police were reluctant to register FIR and thus she moved an application before Justice of Peace for registering FIR, which was dismissed. He said that she then challenged the subordinate court’s decision in the PHC for not registering FIR.

He said that the Hayatabad Police Station on May 16, 2015, on the order of PHC, registered an FIR against the officials. He further argued that due to the influence of respondents, the police constituted a high level inquiry committee headed by SSP investigation, which was not so required in normal circumstances. He said the inquiry committee submitted its report for the cancellation of the case against the respondents.

The lawyer submitted that the opinion of the district public prosecutor was also sought and a final report for cancelation of the case was filed in the court, which acquitted the respondents in the case.

However, the lawyer argued that the order of acquittal by the court was based on presumption and in the result of non-reading of material evidence on the record. He pointed out that the subordinate court conveniently ignored two medical reports and orders of accountability court and decided the application for acquittal. He requested the court to declare the order of acquittal as illegal, unlawful and against the command of law.

As per the NAB, the suspect Sardar Gul Khitab was arrested by the NAB on April 30, 2015. An accountability court remanded him into NAB’s custody for seven days.The NAB alleged that he had received bribe of Rs200,000 from a municipal officer, Mehboob Ali, in Abbottabad by impersonating as NAB KP Assistant Director (Investigation) Umar Butt.