LAHORE: An accountability court has observed in its order that the record reflected that Nawaz Sharif was subjected to political victimisation in the reference pertaining to alleged illegal allotment of plots to Jang Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakilur Rehman in 1986.
The court in its detailed verdict issued on Thursday also observed that the proper procedure for declaring Nawaz Sharif a proclaimed offender had not been followed.
“The court’s decision to declare Nawaz Sharif a proclaimed offender in the case was not in line with the parameters settled and followed by the apex court,” the court added.
The order said that under Section 87 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, one could only be declared a proclaimed offender if the court was satisfied after recording the evidence of the process server who executed the warrants at the accused address and all other formalities.
“In this case, the record is silent regarding who issued the warrants, publications or documents containing the material to inform the accused to appear before the court of law. This is a mandatory condition; otherwise, the entire proceedings become void and illegal.”
The court also said that precedent showed there were conditions for the issuance of a proclamation specifically, that proceedings should have begun when the accused had not left the country and that he was in hiding to avoid facing the law.
“If the accused had already left the country before any notice, summon, warrant or proceedings were issued to appear before the court of law, then the entire proceedings become illegal and void ab-initio.”
The order said that Nawaz was also entitled to the same relief as the principled accused, Rehman, in the case, “having a lesser role and on a better legal footing as compared to the acquitted co-accused”. The court directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and revenue authorities to release the properties of Nawaz and the applicants in the case.
The accountability court had acquitted former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on June 24 in the plots allotment reference case against the owner of a media house. The court concluded that no loss was caused to the LDA from any act of the accused or his co-accused persons as the prosecution admitted that the reserved price was paid in time. The court issued the order on applications of Yousaf Abbas, a nephew of Nawaz Sharif, and others.
The applicants had challenged the auction of properties supposedly owned by the former premier. They claimed ownership of the assets ordered to be auctioned by the court after the former premier was declared a proclaimed offender for his constant absence in the trial proceedings. They said the assets had been transferred to them being lawful legal heirs of the owners.
A trial court had also acquitted Mir Shakil, former LDA director general Humayon Faiz Rasool and its former director of land development department Mian Bashir Ahmad on Jan 31, 2022.
The NAB had alleged that the former premier illegally allotted 54 plots each measuring one-kanal in Johar Town against exemption policy and the laws when he was Chief Minister of Punjab. It alleged the accused caused a loss of Rs143 million to the national exchequer through the allotment of the land.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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