KARACHI: An accountability court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on an application challenging the maintainability of an alleged Rs2.27 billion assets accumulation reference filed against former provincial information minister Sharjeel Inam Memon and others.

Mr Memon, his mother, wife with nine others have been booked in a second reference of accumulating assets worth over Rs2.27bn, beyond his known sources of income.

On Wednesday, administrative judge Farid Anwar Qazi reserved his verdict to be announced on Nov 20 after hearing arguments on an application challenging the maintainability of the reference.

Earlier, Mr Memon and seven other suspects appeared on pre-arrest bail.

Kamran Gul, a suspect currently based in Dubai, challenged the maintainability of the reference through his counsel, arguing that he lawfully purchased a farmhouse in Hyderabad from Mr Memon a couple of years ago and then rented out the same to him.

The applicant duly declared the subject property under the amnesty scheme in June, thus it was no more an illegal property as alleged by NAB, the counsel maintained, adding that the reference was not maintainable for initiating trial since it lacked evidence against the applicant and others.

The court was asked to dismiss the reference in light of the judgements of the superior courts on the specific question of maintainability.

However, special public prosecutor Shahbaz Sahotra argued that the farmhouse was a benami property of Sharjeel Memon, who in connivance with Kamran Gul managed to prepare bogus documents regarding its sale and purported rental.

NAB issued call-up notices to the applicant to explain the legitimacy of the subject property before the government launched the amnesty scheme, the prosecutor said, adding that Mr Gul failed to turn up before NAB. The prosecutor added that secondly the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 had an overriding effect on all other laws, including the amnesty scheme.

The prosecutor maintained that the reference was maintainable for initiating trial against the suspects and pleaded to the court to frame the charge against them and dismiss the application of Mr Gul.

The judge also reserved his order to be announced on Nov 20 on an application filed by defence counsel for Mr Memon’s wife, who said she was currently living abroad and could not appear before the court at the moment.

NAB claimed that Sharjeel Memon accumulated assets (after deduction of verified income) in his own name and in the names of his family members to the tune of Rs2,270,930,333 allegedly through illegal means in connivance with the others. He allegedly illegally acquired residential and commercial properties in SITE and DHA through his frontmen.

Indictment deferred

The indictment of four detained suspects was deferred on Wednesday yet again in former lawmaker Ali Raza Abidi’s murder case, as the judge of the antiterrorism court-XI was on leave to perform umrah, the staff and complainant’s counsel said.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2019