NAB challenges grant of bail

National Accountability Bureau Friday invoked Islamabad High Court's jurisdiction challenging Accountability Court's order of granting bail to Captain Muhammad Safdar (retd) in a reference filed against him in pursuance of the Supreme Court's verdict in the Panama Papers case. The NAB prosecutor filed a petition in the matter making Muhammad Safdar and judge of the Accountability Court Islamabad respondents.
The NAB submitted that upon completion of investigation, the Bureau filed references against five accused persons including Safdar before Accountability Court Islamabad after which the court on September 14 summoned the accused. The petitioner said that despite having knowledge about the summons, Muhammad Safdar failed to appear before the court to which the court re-summoned him.
The prosecutor added that the accused did not appear before the court on September 26 again and the court issued his bailable arrest warrants, saying even then Safdar didn't turn up before the special court; consequently, the special court issued non-bailable arrest warrants against him with directives to the Bureau to ensure Safdar's presence before the court on October 9.
He submitted that the officials of NAB in execution of non-bailable arrest warrants arrested Captain Safdar (retd) on October 8 at Benazir Bhutto International Airport Islamabad and produced him before the court on October 9 with a plea of his judicial remand.
"The respondent No. 2 [accountability court judge], instead of granting remand of the accused to judicial custody and by ignoring the principles dealing with the custody of accused and the powers to grant bail in the matter pertaining to offences under the provision of NAB Ordinance 1999, illegally and unlawfully released the accused from custody on submission of surety bond of Rs 5 million with one surety in the like amount," NAB prosecutor said.
The NAB official said that procedure adopted by the trial court is not warranted by the law as the court is not competent to release the accused without granting bail by the competent court of law. The petitioner further said that the offence was non-bailable and when the accused appeared before the trial court in pursuance of non-bailable warrants in the custody of NAB authority, the court was not competent to let him off.
The NAB prosecutor said that Muhammad Safdar didn't appear before the Special Court on various dates of hearings and avoided the process of law and tried to hamper the proceedings, which are to be concluded within a specified period of six months. Under the facts, the petitioner prayed to Islamabad High Court to declare the order of accountability court of October 9 as illegal, without jurisdiction and set aside the same amid granting judicial custody of the accused.