SC restores Anwar Saifullah’s sentence after 15 years

  Corruption case

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday declared the acquittal of former minister for petroleum and natural resources Anwar Saifullah announced by the Lahore High Court (LHC) as null and void and restored the punishment.

The apex court ruled that ministers and legislators exerting pressure on civil servants for political favours in the public sector and the bureaucracy which was ready to oblige them formed a deadly alliance and their unholy collaboration worked as a recipe for destruction of merit, weakening of theSaifullah Khan, former minister for petroleum and natural resources in a criminal case.

Former minister for petroleum and natural resources had appointed 145 persons on various jobs in Oil and Gas Development Corporation Limited (OGDCL) after forcing the reluctant chairman of the corporation and after relaxing the relevant rules just to please his political friends.

On May 10, 1997, a reference was filed against Anwar Saifuallah Khan by the Chief Ehtesab Commissioner before the Lahore High Court, Lahore under section 14(1) of the Ehtesab Ordinance, 1996 with an allegation of indulging in corruption and corrupt practices while holding a public office and upon promulgation of Ordinance No XVIII of 1999.

On May 15, 2000 the Accountability Court, Lahore framed a charge sheet against the respondent for an offence under section 9(a)(vi) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 to which the respondent pleaded not guilty and claimed a trial. 

Upon conclusion of the trial the learned Judge, Accountability Court, Lahore convicted the respondent for an offence under section 3(1)(d) of the Ehtesab Ordinance, 1996 read with section 35 of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 vide judgment dated 30.11.2000 and sentenced the respondent to simple imprisonment for one year and a fine of Rs50,00,000 or in default of payment thereof to undergo simple imprisonment for one year. The benefit under section 382-B, CrPC was extended to the respondent.

The Accountability Court also passed a consequential order under section 15 of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 disqualifying the respondent from contesting an election or holding a public office for a specified period.

The respondent, Anwar Saifullah Khan, challenged his conviction and sentence before the Lahore High Court, Lahore through Criminal Appeal No 1912 of 2000 which was heard and allowed by a learned Division Bench of the said court vide judgment dated June 13, 2002 and the respondent was acquitted of the charge.

The Lahore High Court ruled that what the respondent did was in accord with the prevalent practice. The High Court had concluded that the respondent had no criminal intent in the matter. 

The state however, challenged the respondent’s acquittal by the Lahore High Court, Lahore through the present appeal by leave of this court granted on 10.05.2006.

Later on, the federation filed an appeal against the judgment of Lahore High Court in the Supreme Court and the apex court on May 10, 2006 granted leave to appeal and held hearings and later on reserved the judgment in the instant appeal.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court while announcing judgment in the appeal did not agree with the judgment of the learned High Court. 

“With respect to the high court, we do not agree, the Supreme Court ruled and held that in the matter getting 145 persons appointed to various jobs in the OGDCL, the respondent had ignored the mandate of Articles 18 and 25 of the Constitution, he had defied the law declared in the above mentioned judgments rendered by this court and by some other courts and tribunals, he had utilised his authority under the relevant law for extraneous considerations and purposes, he had used his position and power against the interests of the relevant corporation of which he was in charge and he had done all that to dish out undue favours to others by imposing his will upon a hesitant or unwilling competent authority.

We have, thus, felt convinced that the charge under section 9(a)(vi) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 stood fully established against the respondent. This appeal is, therefore, allowed and the impugned judgment passed by the Lahore High Court, Lahore on 13.06.2002 is set aside, the judgment passed by the Accountability Court, Lahore on 30.11.2000 and the conviction and sentence of the respondent recorded through that judgment are restored with the modification that the sentence of fine passed against the respondent is remitted as the criminal case in hand is about two decades old, the respondent has already undergone his entire sentence of imprisonment and the period of his disqualifications under section 15 of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 has also expired by now,” says the judgment.

The court felt that insisting upon payment of fine by the respondent or sending him behind the bars for non-payment of fine at such a late stage would amount to, in the words of Shakespeare, insisting upon a pound of flesh. This appeal is disposed of in these terms.

The court directed its office to send a copy of this judgment to the Chairman, National Accountability Bureau who is directed to bring this judgment to the notice of all the federal and provincial ministers and the secretaries of all the federal and provincial ministries, divisions and departments in the country who may stand warned that through this judgment and the previous judgments of this court and of the other courts and tribunals mentioned in this judgment, the legal position on the subject stands sufficiently explained and clarified and if they or their subordinates, in terms of the provisions of section 9(a)(vi) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, misuse their authority so as to gain any benefit or favour for themselves or any other person, or render or attempt to render or willfully fail to exercise their authority to prevent the grant or rendition of any undue benefit or favour which they could have prevented by exercising their authority then, unless the contrary is established in clear terms, criminal intent on their part, for the purposes of the provisions of section 14(d) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, shall from now onwards be more readily inferred than was done by the courts in the past.

“It is but obvious that a society which allows merit to be sacrificed at the altar of political patronage, which does nothing to prevent weakening of the state structure and which closes its eyes to injustice is doomed to self-destruct”, the court held.

The court ruled that it was about time that the National Accountability Bureau and the courts of the country came down heavily upon such predators of a strong, just and decent society.