SC Adjourns PPP Leader Syed Khursheed Shah's Bail Plea Till Date In Office

The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned hearing of former Opposition Leader in National Assembly and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah's post-arrest bail plea till date in office

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Dec, 2020 ) :The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned hearing of former Opposition Leader in National Assembly and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah's post-arrest bail plea till date in office.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Mushir Alam and comprising Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Yahya Afridi heard the case filed by Syed Khursheed Shah and his son. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had also approached the Supreme Court against the decision to grant bail to Syed Khurshid Shah's son-in-law, wife and others. According to the NAB, on receipt of multiple complaints against the petitioner (Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah, MNA) that he was richest man in the Sindh beyond his known sources of income, the NAB conducted inquiry and investigation whereby collected the evidence against him and filed a Reference in NAB Court Sukkur. He was nominated the accused No.1 in the Reference No.17/2019 along with seventeen others. The Petitioner/ accused in connivance with other co-accused persons accumulated assets beyond their known sources to the tune of Rs.1,229,449,803/-, which were disproportionate to their known sources of income.

During the course of proceedings, Advocate Raza Rabbani counsel for Khursheed Shah pleaded the court to grant time for preparation of questions asked by the bench.

Justice Mushir Alam said that the option of bail was limited in NAB cases. The larger bench of the Supreme Court had also clarified the principle of bail, he added.

Raza Rabbani said that he was unaware of the larger bench decision.

Upon this Justice Mushir Alam responded that it seemed his team did not assist him properly.

Justice Yahya Afridi asked the counsel to argue in the case only if he could explain Khurshid Shah's assets. Khurshid Shah accepted his family's properties in the high court, he added.

He asked Raza Rabbani to give arguments on merit only when assets were in line with income. He asked what were the sources of income when Khurshid Shah came into politics? Raza Rabbani replied that Khurshid Shah declared all the properties in the wealth statements.

Justice Afridi responded that it was not a matter of disclosing properties, it was a matter of sources of income.

The counsel said that the Federal board of Revenue (FBR) never issued notice to his client. The NAB made the case by overestimating the value of the assets, he added.

He said that Khursheed Shah was also investigated in 2001. The NAB did not find anything for seven years and later it closed the investigation, he added.

Justice Yahya Afridi said that everything about sources of income would reveal through record.

Raza Rabbani pleaded the court to grant him time for preparation of case.

The court accepted the plea and adjourned hearing of the case till date in office.

The court also disposed of the second bail application filed by Khursheed Shah.

Advocate Aitzaz Ahsan said that the second bail plea was filed before filing of NAB reference in the Accountability Court which was now infructuous.

He said that he wanted to withdraw the application.