'Through this criminal miscellaneous application the petitioners seek interim bail during the pendency of the main petition which has been directed against the order, dated 15-8-2002 of the Division Bench of the Lahore High Court, Lahore alleging that the said order amount to refusal of the Bench to consider their application for grant of bail during the pendency of their appeal against their conviction recorded by the Ehtesab Court. The petitioners were sent for trial by NAB along with another who was this principal accused. The petitioners, who were arrayed as co-accused, for a short time remained the Honorary Directors of the National Industrial Cooperative Finance Corporation Ltd. They have been convicted under sections 9(vi)/10 of the NAB Ordinance and sentenced to 3 years imprisonment each on the ground that they were vicariously liable along with this principal accused.
2. Learned counsel for petitioners submitted that the order impugned in the, main petition amount to refusal of the Bench to consider judicially the application of the petitioners for grant of interim bail, during the pendency of the appeal as the learned Bench has neither issued notice to the prosecution for consideration of their said application nor fixed a date for its consideration otherwise which had an effect of depriving the petitioners of their liberty. On merits he submitted that the Investigating Officer in his evidence categorically stated as under:- "There is nothing on record against the said persons and according to the report submitted to the Registrar Cooperative Societies, Punjab, by NICFC, nothing was found outstanding against them and they were not involved in the working of NICFC."
' He also argued that there was no allegation against the petitioners that in the capacity of Honorary Directors, they did not disburse any amount of the National Industrial Cooperative Finance Corporation Ltd. To any person as loan or that they availed any loan for themselves and for any other person to get personal benefit or caused any financial loss to the Society (NICFC). He also argued that though there was no allegation of getting loan by the petitioners but it has been observed mechanically in the judgment passed by the trial Court that the petitioners appear to have not paid the interest. He also argued that they had been convicted merely on the ground that they should also suffer for keeping the company of the principal accused, as the man is known by the company which he keeps, which is hardly a ground for conviction under the criminal law for any offence. There is no material that the petitioners were in any manner related to the principal accused.
3. Mr. Naveed Rasool Mirza, Prosecutor-General (NAB) maintained that the Division Bench of the High Court had not decided the application of the petitioners finally for grant of interim bail, therefore, this Court in chambers should not grant any relief to the petitioners after conviction.
' After hearing' learned counsel for the parties and having gone through the judgment of the trial Court, the contentions raised by the learned counsel for the petitioners prima facie have considerable force. The petitioners are allowed interim bail subject to their furnishing bail bonds in the sum of Rs,5 lac each with two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the Registrar of the Lahore High Court. Learned Division Bench of Lahore High Court, seized of the matter shall expedite the disposal of the application of the petitioners and if possible decide the same within 15 days.
Interim .