NAB appeal dismissed as withdrawn: How NAB chief can sack employees without inquiry, asks SC

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday took strong exception to the performance of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and questioned as to how its chairman could sack its employees without conducting a proper inquiry.

A two-member SC bench comprising Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel dismissed as withdrawn an appeal, filed by NAB chairman against its employees.

NAB Deputy Prosecutor Imranul Haq informed the court that as the Bureau had restored its two employees, Shakir Ali and Sarvech Shaikh on April 29, 2021, it did not want to continue the case further.

CJ Gulzar Ahmed, however, observed as to how employees could be removed from their service without holding a proper inquiry against them. The chief justice said that the case was pending with the anti-graft body since 2018, but the Bureau did not complete the inquiry against the two officials.

The CJ observed that officials were committing a big fraud while NAB chairman was keeping mum on the mater.

“The NAB chairman is a retired judge of the Supreme Court and how can he remove his employees without holding a proper inquiry against them,” the chief justice remarked, adding that an inquiry that could be held only in two months took three years.

The NAB deputy prosecutor, however, submitted that as per 11.05 provision of the NAB Terms and Conditions of Service (TCS) Rules 2002, the competent authority could award punishment to an accused without holding a proper inquiry when solid evidence were available with the authority.

As per the case, two NAB officials — Shakir Ali and Servech Shaikh — allegedly tried to get Rs1 million from an accused Sikandar Ali Abrho and also tried to kidnap him. However, relatives of Abrho reached the spot well in time and rescued him from the NAB officials.

Later on Sikandar Ali Abrho filed a petition in the Sindh High Court against the two officials.

Abrho submitted that he was kidnapped by two NAB officials. He prayed to the Sindh High Court that an FIR should be lodged against these officials, and the high court ordered to do the needful.

Meanwhile, the NAB chairman constituted a fact-finding committee to probe the case and later on, on the basis of the FIR, approved removal of both the officials and finally they were removed in the year 2018. Both the officials moved the Sindh High Court against their removal and the court ordered for conducting an inquiry into their case and decide the matter within three months.

NAB then challenged order in the Supreme Court. The officials filed a contempt petition in the Sindh High Court, which had later on ordered NAB on Dec 10, 2020 to restore both the officials within a week besides completing an inquiry against them within three months.

NAB, on April 29, 2021, restored both the officials and on Tuesday Deputy Prosecutor NAB told the apex court that as they had restored both the officials, hence the Bureau did not want to pursue the matter.