Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday turned down the pleas of former President Asif Ali Zardari, Fayral Talpur and others against the transfer of money-laundering case to accountability court, Islamabad. Asif Ali Zardari, Faryal Talpur, Anwar Majeed, Abdul Ghani Majeed, Taha Raza and Hussain Lawai, accused in money-laundering case challenged the verdict of banking court for transfer of money-laundering case.
Earlier, Defence counsels and NAB Prosecutor gave their arguments in the case before the division bench headed by Chief Justice SHC Ahmed Ali M Shaikh. Farooq Naek, counsel for Asif Ali Zardari and Faryal Talpur, argued that the Supreme Court (SC) ordered for further investigation in the money-laundering case and didn't issue the order for transfer of the case.
If the SC didn't issue such an order, then couldn't Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) transfer the case, the court inquired. Naek contended that the application filed by Chairman NAB for transfer of case should not have been submitted in the banking court under Section NAO Section 16-A but under Section 16-B.
The counsel said that Joint Investigation Team (JIT) had recommended filing of sixteen references when the court asked about the report of JIT in money laundering case. The court inquired whether the apex court used investigation, probe and trial words in its verdict when Naek contended that the top court had ordered for further investigation.
Naek argued that accountability court has no power for trial of money laundering case and said the Chairman NAB should have waited for filing of final challan of the case. The NAB Prosecutor informed the court that the case has been transferred in accordance with the judgment of the apex court and stated that "big fishes" are involved in money-laundering case. The prosecutor said that the apex court was informed that the record of money-laundering case can be tempered.
The court showed annoyance over the NAB Prosecutor when the court directed him to read only the relevant record after the prosecutor said that he started from the beginning to make it easier for the court to comprehend the case history. The NAB Prosecutor contested the claim of the petitioner that the judgment of apex court in money laundering case was misread by NAB.
The petitioners in their petitions contended that the order of the banking court is bad in law as well as in facts that is based on conjecturers and submitted that the said order is contrary to law. They also stated that the order of the banking court has been passed in ignorance of the fact that all the essential persons, documents and witnesses are within the jurisdiction of the court and argued that the transfer of the case to Islamabad will cause great inconvenience to the accused persons and witnesses, which is against the principles of natural justice. The NAB Prosecutor opposed the pleas against the transfer of case, which was accepted by the SHC bench by dismissing all the pleas in this regard.
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