Khawaja Brothers Case: Court Reserves Verdict In Plea Against Indictment
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published October 14, 2019 | 08:02 PM
An accountability court on Monday reserved its verdict on an application filed against indictment of former railways minister Khawaja Saad Rafique and his brother Khawaja Salman Rafique in Paragon City scam, till October 16
Accountability Court Judge Syed Jawadul Hassan conducted the proceedings wherein Khawaja brothers were produced on expiry of their judicial remand.
The defence counsel advanced his arguments on application against indictment of Khawaja brothers, submitting that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed the reference against his clients without considering Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) regulations and the Companies Act.
He submitted that the bureau did not have the authority to investigate and file reference in the matter as the Paragon City was a company and the bureau could not interfere in companies matters.
He submitted that the SECP regulations and Companies Act explained the method of trial and conviction and sessions court was empowered to hear the matter. He termed the reference illegal and submitted that the filing of reference was a violation of fundamental rights of his clients. He submitted that there was no allegation of misuse of powers against the Khawaja brothers.
However, the NAB prosecutor submitted that after the indictment, the jurisdiction could not be challenged. He further submitted that the bureau had the authority to investigate the matter.
He submitted that the Lahore High Court had elaborated jurisdiction of the Bureau in Murad Arshad case which was also a case of housing society. He submitted that the reference was filed after fulfilling all legal requirements.
The court, after hearing arguments of the parties, reserved its verdict till October 16.
Khawaja brothers had filed the application against their indictment submitting that neither the bureau nor the accountability court had jurisdiction in the matter.
Besides the Khawaja brothers, Nadeem Zia, Umar Zia, and Farhan Ali were also nominated in the reference.
The reference stated that the Khawaja brothers, through their 'benamidars' and with the abetment of former MPA Qaiser Amin Butt and Nadeem Zia, established a housing project in the name of Air Avenue. The project was later converted into a new housing project namely Paragon City Pvt Ltd, which NAB said was an illegal society and not approved by the Lahore Development Authority.
The former railways minister and his brother received monetary benefits of Rs 58 million and 39 million, respectively, from the society through proxy firms under the grab of consultancy services, it added.
Khawaja brothers were arrested on December 11, 2018 by the bureau. A Lahore High Court bench dismissed post-arrest bail petitions of the Khawaja brothers on June 18. However, they had not approached the apex court in the matter yet.
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