NAB can arrest anyone without intimation: SC

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday ruled that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) can make arrest anytime as there is no provision available in the NAB law to intimate the accused person before arresting him/ her.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and comprising Justice Faisal Arab and Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel, in a short order announced in a case titled 'National Accountability Bureau versus Syed Jalil Abbas' held that under the NAB Ordinance 1999 there is no provision to intimate the accused before arresting him/her.

The NAB had challenged in the Supreme Court, a verdict of Lahore High Court, holding that the anti-graft body cannot arrest an accused without intimating him/her without issuing an arrest warrant.

The Supreme Court, however, held that under the NAB Ordinance 1999 if there is sufficient evidence against the accused, his arrest warrant can be issued anytime by the head of the ant-graft body.

On examination of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, reveals that no such limitation has been imposed on NAB, in this behalf, says the short order, adding that if sufficient material has been gathered to connect a person to the commission of an offence, obviously NAB can arrest such a person. “However, we do not expect that NAB would misuse such power,” the short order added.

Earlier, during the course of hearing, Imranul Haq Khan, NAB Special Prosecutor submitted before the court that under NAB Ordinance 1999, there is no provision to intimate the accused before arresting him/her.

He contended if there is evidence against the accused, the NAB chairman can issue arrest warrant. He further submitted that in many cases, before the high court, the pre-arrest bails were disposed of with the observation if NAB wants to arrest an accused person, he shall be intimated, but provision of law does not exist in statutes and the high court had been exercising jurisdiction not vested in it.