KARACHI, July 11: The Sindh High Court ordered on Thursday to release on bail appellant Farida Memon, wife of a former PPP MNA and a former secretary- general of the United Bank Employees Federation, Abdul Aziz Memon.

An accountability court sentenced the husband and the wife on June 28 to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs one million each.

The bench, comprising Justice Zahid Kurban Alavi and Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany, admitted the appeal against the AC order, and held that “by consent the sentence is suspended and the respondents agree that in the properties that have been confiscated no third party interest shall be created till the disposal of this appeal.”

The court held that “since a lady (appellant) is involved, by consent she is enlarged on bail.” Apparently the appellant was on bail, previously when the matter was proceeded before the trial court, in the sum of Rs one million with a PR bond of the same amount.

The appellant was represented by Khalid Anwar, advocate, and the National Accountability Bureau by deputy prosecutor-general Anwar Tariq. This bail was granted on December 13, 2001 and the surety was furnished to the satisfaction of the administrative judge of the accountability courts. The order noted that this surety was still subsisting, so the appellant was not required to furnish fresh surety but execute fresh bail bonds in the like amount to the satisfaction of the administrative judge of the accountability courts. The surety, if withdrawn, be re-submitted to the same court.

The appeal of Aziz Memon was by consent adjourned to July 17. The court by consent allowed this application to the extent that the parties should not create any third-party interest in the properties which had been confiscated.

The appellants had challenged the June 28 order of Judge Javed Alam of the AC-IV who also ordered that properties held in the names of the accused and his wife were disproportionate to his known sources of income.

He had ordered the forfeiture of two valuable plots at Hawkesbay Town, a plot in KDA Scheme No 1 A, and House No 15/1, 30th street, Phase V extension, DHA, where the couple was residing.