July 30, 2008	Wednesday	Rajab 26, 1429

KARACHI, July 29: Another accused allegedly involved in the 220-million-rupee provident fund scam was granted interim bail by the Sindh High Court on Tuesday.Nazeer Ahmad Memon, headmaster of a Sukkur government school, and 56 other teachers and accounts officials are alleged by the National Accountability Bureau to have misappropriated Rs220 million out of the education department employees’ provident fund by withdrawing amounts in fake names. Memon alone is accused of withdrawing an amount of Rs50 million in complicity with accounts officials. He drew salaries in the names of ghost teachers and then withdrew their provident fund amounts.

The bail plea of the accused was contested by NAB additional prosecutor-general Chaudhry Mohammad Iqbal but a division bench consisting of Justices Mrs Qaiser Iqbal and Khwaja Naveed Ahmed admitted the petitioner to interim bail against two sureties of Rs200,000 each on the ground of consistency. The petitioner submitted that other accused in the reference had already been granted bail and assured the court that he would not evade the trial of the reference against him.

Hearing adjourned

The bench adjourned the hearing of a petition alleging that the taluka nazim and taluka municipal officer of Shikarpur auctioned the slaughter house contract in violation of the rules. Petitioner Ghulam Ali alleged that the contract was awarded surreptitiously to a contractor while he was kept in the dark about the date and venue of the public auction.

Advocate Syed Masroor Alvi appeared for the respondents on Tuesday and argued that the petition was not maintainable as the contract was duly advertised in the local newspapers. The date and venue of the auction were mentioned in the press advertisement but the petitioner stayed away from the proceedings. Besides, the petitioner has failed to cite the successful contractor as a respondent despite his being a necessary party. The bench adjourned further hearing to August 8 for a rejoinder by the petitioner.

Jirga decision challenged

Sultan Khan, a trader, moved the court through Advocate Sohail Hameed for dissolution of his partnership with two other businessmen and for rendition of accounts. He alleged that the assets comprised in the partnership, including even the goods hypothecated with a commercial bank to secure a loan, were being sold in pursuance of a decision taken by a jirga constituted at the behest of his former partners, Mohabbat Khan and Hazrat Alam.

Justice Khalid Ali Z. Qazi, who heard the suit, asked the court nazir to inspect the assets and record of partnership. The defendants were issued notices for August 11.