LAHORE: A Lahore High Court full bench on Wednesday partially heard a set of petitions moved by industrial units challenging jurisdiction of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to proceed against them for recovery of banks’ loans.

The petitioners through their counsel argued that banks filed references with the NAB for the recovery of loans sanctioned against pledged properties. They said the bureau was taking coercive measures against them including arrest for the loan recovery.

The petitioners argued that banking court was the appropriate forum in the law for the recovery of a bank’s liability. They said their assets were pledged with the banks against the liability, therefore, NAB could not take action against them. They asked the court to restrain the NAB from taking action against them.

The bench headed by Justice Ijazul Ahsan adjourned further hearing till May 5 and sought more arguments from the petitioners’ side. Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan and Justice Ayesha A. Malik were other members of the full bench.

Summoned: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday observed that the Punjab government was not taking prisons’ affairs seriously especially construction of new jails.

Justice Muhammad Farrukh Irfan Khan further remarked that despite issuance of repeated directions to the government since 2010, budget for construction of new jails had only been approved. The judge said if completed jails were handed over to Punjab Prison Department and they were not made operational, this will not result in optimum utilisation of funds of the state.

The judge was hearing a petition filed by Rida Qazi for improving conditions prevailing in jails and providing proper space and cells according to humanitarian requirements.

Justice Khan summoned secretaries of finance, home, communication & works and planning departments on Thursday (today) and also asked an additional advocate general to ensure submission of complete data by authorities concerned on an annual basis.

The data should show total number of inmates in each and every jail of the province with a breakdown of male, female and juvenile prisoners, the judge added.

In this case, the home department had already told the court that revenue component for appointment of staff for six under-construction jails had been approved by the government.

These jails including high security prison in southern Punjab (Sahiwal), district jail Pakpattan (residential portion), district jail Pakpattan (non-residential portion), district jail Bhakkar, district jail Layyah (non-residential portion), and district jail Okara (residential portion) were to be operational on or by June 30, 2014.

The petitioner had asked the court to issue directions for treatment of the prisoners according to Pakistan Prisoners Code (jail manual). The petitioner had also sought shifting of mentally challenged prisoners from jails to mental hospitals for their proper treatment and lodging the addict inmates at drug centres established in the private sector.

The petitioner further sought release of prisoners involved in bailable cases after meeting the legal formalities in order to lessen the burden on jails.

POLICE CRITICISED: The Supreme Court on Wednesday lambasted the Punjab police for arresting a wrong suspect in a theft case even after 11 years.

Hearing bail petition of one Javed Ajmal, a three-judge bench lamented the police performance and rejected a report showing the petitioner as real suspect.

Chief Justice Tassaduq Husain Jillani observed, “Even after 11 years the police failed to catch the real suspect.” He said the investigation carried out in the instant case put a question mark on the performance of Punjab police.

Ajmal through his counsel pleaded that he had nothing to do with the theft case but Ferozewala police arrested him. He said the case was initially registered against one Javed Sami, however, police arrested him (petitioner) instead after 11 years.

He said police arrested him because of a personal grudge against him. The bench released the petitioner on bail subject to furnishing of bonds.