ISLAMABAD, July 26: The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to submit details about its land-sharing deal with the Defence Housing Authority (DHA).

Under the deal, the civic agency had provided 2,412 kanals to the DHA in exchange for developed plots. However, so far the CDA has not received the plots.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Moh-ammad Chaudhry sought the details while hearing a suo motu case of the Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) scam.

Misbah Gulnar Sharif, the counsel for the CDA, requested for more time to file a reply after ascertaining the correct position from the record of the civic agency.

It may be mentioned that the 321.3 kanals that the DHA sold to the EOBI against Rs15.74 billion was in fact part of the land that was owned by the CDA and the Commoners Town, a private housing society.

During the hearing on Friday, the SC also ordered freezing of the bank accounts of Eden Housing Society after its counsel could not convince the court for the delay in paying back the amount to the EOBI. The society had sold three commercial plots of different sizes to the EOBI in Sukkur for Rs2.295 billion.

When on July 19, the apex court ordered freezing of the DHA accounts, the society had promised that it would refund the amount it had received from the EOBI.

On the last date of hearing, Tariq Mehmood, the counsel for the society, furnished a post-dated cheque (Aug 18) worth Rs2.295 billion. However, the court on Friday returned it, directing the counsel to submit a checque with a current date. Former attorney general Irfan Qadir submitted his papers of attorney to the bench on behalf of the DHA and informed the court that Ahmer Bilal Soofi had disassociated himself from the case due to his other engagements.

He raised some preliminary objections with the request that the order of freezing the DHA accounts may be withdrawn.

The FIA additional director general, Mohammad Azam Khan, also submitted a progress report regarding the EOBI scam to the court. The court directed him to supply the copy of the report to all the counsel appearing for the parties as well as to the attorney general.