ISLAMABAD, Feb 20 (APP):The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB)’s appeal seeking the cancellation of bail of persons involved in corruption and illegal allotments/shifting/China cutting on amenity plots of KDA Karachi.
A three-member SC bench comprising Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ayesha A Malik, and Justice Athar Minallah heard the case. NAB had filed an application for canceling the bail of accused Fahmuddin, Atif, Mohammad Feroz, and Sarfraz.
During the course of proceedings, the court observed that the case was from 2017 and the Supreme Court had ordered to complete the trial in three months in 2019.
Despite the passage of six years, the trial could not be completed, it added.
The NAB prosecutor said the trial was being delayed due to the fact that the witness Jameel Baloch was in jail and the case was proceeding in Rawalpindi.
Justice Athar Minallah asked who was responsible for the delay in the trial.
The Chief Justice asked the NAB to satisfy the court if NAB was not at fault during the delay in the trial.
The prosecutor replied that there were 23 suspects in the trial, and because of one witness, the situation of the trial was still the same. Witness Jameel Ahmed Baloch was serving jail time in the second case, now he was released from jail, he added.
Justice Ayesha said that if one witness was not appearing, the statements of other witnesses were recorded. NAB had its own system but did not even try to file an application on the delay of trial, she added.
She said that NAB was trying to put its burden on the apex court.
