PHC suspends Accountability Court’s order banning Voluntary Return deal

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday suspended the order of the Accountability Courts judges that had restrained the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from Voluntary Return (VR) deal with the accused persons in corruption cases after their arrest.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Irshad Qaisar suspended the order. It put on notice the judges of the accountability court and Ministry of Law and Justice through Attorney General of Pakistan for written comments.
The bench issued the directives in a writ petition filed by NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against the order of the Accountability Courts judges. During hearing of the petition, Deputy Prosecutor General of NAB, Muhammad Jamil Khan, submitted that three Accountability Courts, Peshawar Judges, Muhammad Ibrahim, Muhammad Asim Imam and Tariq Yousafzai, had passed an order on June 13 through which the NAB was restrained from VR deal with the arrested accused.
In the decision, the accountability courts judges, he said, had declared that the NAB inquiry against an accused after arrest would automatically be converted into investigation and the NAB after arrest could not opt for VR with the accused and could only accept the plea bargain with the accused.
He submitted that the order was not only a violation of the judgment of the Supreme Court, in the famous verdict of Asfandyar Wali Khan case, in which the apex court had declared VR and Plea Bargain with the NAB as a right of the accused persons.
The NAB deputy prosecutor general said that the accountability court had no power to deprive the accused persons of his right of VR as through VR the accused person could retain his job or carry out his political career.
After preliminary hearing, the bench suspended the order and issued notice to the federal government and the accountability courts judges to submit reply before August 6, the next date for the hearing.