Islamabad High Court (IHC) has granted protective bail to Sharjeel Inam Memon who is allegedly involved in Rs 5 billion corruption scandal of awarding advertisements to print and electronic media under an awareness campaign as then provincial information minister. A division bench comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani on Monday granted protective bail to Memon till April 5. The bail is granted against two surety bonds worth one million rupees each.
Memon was accompanied in the court by two senior attorneys and former chairmen Senate Farooq H Naek and Syed Nayyer Hussain Bukhari. Beside this, Sindh Minister for Transport Syed Nasir Hussain Shah also accompanied him in the court. However, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Prosecutor Sardar Muzaffar opposed grant of protective bail to Memon but the court dismissed his plea.
Sardar Muzaffar contested that being a proclaimed offender Memon cannot claim normal rights. While questioning Memon's affidavit attached with his petition where the petitioner said that this is his first petition, he informed the court that Memon concealed facts from the IHC as he had applied for a protective bail on March 6, 2017 before a Lahore High Court (LHC) bench that dismissed his plea.
Whereby the court refuted the argument by saying when a person surrenders himself before a court of law, he is no more a proclaimed offender. "Why don't we issue an order to NAB to provide protection to the accused in reaching Karachi?" IHC bench observed.
Sardar Muzaffar, however, said that earlier Memon filed a petition before Sindh High Court (SHC) for bail. The SHC had directed him to appear before the accountability court within 10 days, he added. The court said a protective bail is not heard on merits, it is just a facility extended to the accused to reach concerned court of law and court regards the appeal to surrender before the court to face legal course of action, the IHC bench observed.
The NAB prosecutor argued that the accused did not join investigation and inquiry remains pending as he has been a fugitive for two-and-a-half years. The IHC bench then observed that it will not examine this case under section 497 as it is just a protective bail. Legal counsel for Memon, Farooq H Naek argued before the court that this court had also granted protective bails to Khalid Hamyun Langove and former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
Afterwards, Sharjeel Memon while talking to the media said that he is grateful to the court. He said it was easy for him to stay outside the country and avoid legal proceedings. He said that all these cases were formed against him as a tool of political victimisation at the behest of Federal Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. In his petition, Memon had cited Cabinet Division and chairman NAB as respondents.
The petitioner had urged to the court to direct the respondents to desist from fishing and roving inquiries with the liberty of the petitioner in any manner and grant him anticipatory/protective bail to reach concerned court of law. Moreover, the respondents may be directed not to arrest him.