SC declares void SHC order granting bail to Sindh Assembly speaker

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday annulled the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) order on granting bail to Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani in the assets beyond means case.

A three-member SC bench, comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar, which heard the case, directed the SHC to reconsider its verdict within a period of two months.

The court also directed the high court to decide the case in the light of facts and evidence. It ordered that a bench comprising senior judges should hear the bail plea.The SHC, on December 13, 2019, granted bail to Durrani and others nominated in the assets beyond means reference, while ordering to include their names in the Exit Control List.During the course of proceedings, the NAB prosecutor maintained that the provincial assembly speaker’s assets far exceeded his income. Justice Bandial said there should be some basis for granting bail.The prosecutor said that Durrani owned more assets than his known sources of income, and the SHC did not review the facts while hearing the bail plea. The NAB presented all the evidence regarding the assets held by Agha Siraj Durrani beyond means. The counsel for Siraj Durrani said no NAB official had visited to inspect the properties.