Through this constitutional petition under Article 199 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, petitioner Muhammad Faizan has sought post-arrest bail in Accountability Court Reference No. 04/2021.
2. Precisely , the allegation against the petitioner is that he alongwith his father namely , Muhammad Ramzan, (R)
Superintending Engineer Pakistan Public Works Department, accumulated assets beyond their known source of income during the period of his government service.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner is running Insaf Motors', a registered firm, dealing with the business of sale/purchase of auctio ned motor vehicles; that the petitioner was benamidar of the principal accused namely , Muhammad Ramzan and there exists no proof against him qua aiding, abetting or providing assistance to the said accused in acquiring property in his name as benamidar; that the petitioner being elder son, had to look after the affairs of agricultura l land and also take care of his siblings and for that very mason, he has been entangled in this case; that during the period of incarceration on physical remand, no incriminating material could be recovered from the petitioner; that the case against the petitioner requires further probe and inquiry into his guilt by the learned trial Court after recording the evidence. Finally , prayer to release the petitioner on bail has been made.
4. Conversely , learned Special Prosecutor appearing for the NAB has endorsed the report and parawise comments submitted on behalf of NAB authorities and argued that the petitioner aided, assisted and abetted his father in acquiring assets beyond the known source of income as his Behamidar; that during investigation the petitioner has failed to justify any legal source in accumulating huge assets; that the net value of cash flow chart of the petitioner is negative since year, 2010 when he, as per his own claim, had received a share of capital worth Rs. 10,000,000/- from his father for the said business; that the petitioner has failed to give money trail for acquiring huge property and maintaining bank accounts in millions of rupees. He has prayed for dismissal of the petition.
5. We have heard learned counsel for the petitioner as well as the learned Special Prosecutor for NAB and perused the available record.
6. Allegedly , co-accused namely , Muhammad Ramzan, (R) Superintending Engineer Pakistan Public Works Department accumulated heavy property beyond his known source of income in his name as well as in the name of his other family members including the present petitioner . The petitioner being a private person cannot be held responsible for providing assistance, abetment or aid to the principal accused in embezzlement of government funds or obtaining bribe at this preliminary stage, which requires further probe and inquiry by the learned trial Court after recording the evidence. Learned counsel for the petitioner though admits certain property in the name of the petitioner , which were beyond means of his income yet he claims that the same were purchased/transferred in his name by his father as benamidar and he had nothing to do with any embezzlemen t during the tenure of his father's government service. The veracity of allegation against the petitioner that he acted as benamidar of the principal accused, cannot be taken into consideration at this stage of tentative assessment of the material available on record. The petitioner , was arrested in this case on 20.01.2021, he remained on physical remand for about 13-days till 03.02.2021 but during investigation, no incriminating material could be recovered from him.The petitioner is behind the bars since his arrest and his physical custody is no more required to the police for further investigation and, thus, he cannot be kept behind the bars for an indefinite period. In the given circumstances, the petitioner has been succeeded to bring his case under the ambit of being one of further probe and inquiry into his guilt.
7. For what has been discussed above, the petition in hand is allowed and the petitioner is admitted to post arrest bail subject to his furnishing bail bonds in the sum of rupees one million with two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of learned trial Court.