SHC restrains NAB from taking coercive action against senior lawyer

Karachi: The Sindh High Court on Monday restrained the National Accountability Bureau from taking any coercive action including arrest against former adhoc judge of SHC in respect of NAB’s investigation pertained to fake entries of 36 acres of land at Scheme 33, Karachi, subject to condition that the petitioner shall cooperate with the investigation.

Petitioner Salman Hamid, who had also served as adhoce judge of SHC, moved the court against issuance of call-up notice by the NAB with regard to investigation pertaining to fake entries of 36 acres of land.

Petitioner’s counsel Shahab Sarki submitted in the petition that the petitioner was a senior lawyer who has been accused by the NAB for abetting the accused persons in pursuing their lawsuits. He submitted that NAB has no authority to call into question the work of the advocate being performed by him in line of duty as lawyer. He requested the court to quash the call-up notice and restrain the NAB from taking any coercive action against the petitioner.

The SHC’s division bench headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro after preliminary hearing of the petition issued notices to the deputy prosecutor NAB, deputy attorney general and others and called their comments on December 28.

The court in the meantime restrained the NAB from taking any coercive action against the petitioner subject to condition that he shall cooperate in subject investigation.NAB had issued call-up notice to the counsel mentioning that he had first filed application on behalf of Lt. Col (retd) Zulfiqar Shah for becoming intervenor in lawsuit pertained to ownership of property situated at North Nazimabad in 2001 and later despite knowledge of status of the property he filed two lawsuits on behalf of Abdul Jabbar and Mohammad Ibrahim on the same address of the property in which he filed application on behalf of Mr. Shah.

NAB alleged that the lawsuits revolves around the ownership of 36 acres land at Scheme 33 which was later found to be bogus and fake however till time the plaintiffs of the lawsuit had sold the land to other party and obtained monetary benefits.

NAB alleged that act of the counsel appears to be active abetment in pursuing the lawsuits of the parties showing address of same house which he contested for another person whereas one suspect Mohammad Ibrahim denied that lawsuits were not filed by him or his father. NAB had directed the counsel to appear before additional director NAB to record his statement in the matter.