KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday granted bail to Axact Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shoaib Shaikh and 13 others in the fake degrees case.

Justice Iqbal Kalhoro approved the bail plea against a surety bond of Rs500,000 each after hearing arguments from both parties.

All those granted bail in the case have been in custody for the past 15 months.

Lawyer for Axact, Shaukat Hayat, argued during the hearing that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the prosecution had been employing delaying tactics, pointing out that the accused have not been indicted thus far – despite a lapse of 15 months.

Hayat claimed there had been no headway in the case to legitimise his stance that the accused were entitled for bail, especially since his clients had no criminal record or allegations of involvement in terrorism.

The Axact scandal surfaced in May last year when The New York Times published a report that claimed the company sold fake diplomas and degrees online through hundreds of fictitious schools, making “tens of millions of dollars annually”. Subsequently the offices of Axact were sealed, its CEO and key officials were arrested and a probe was launched on the basis of the allegations leveled by NYT.

Opinion

Editorial

‘Source of terror’
Updated 29 Mar, 2024

‘Source of terror’

It is clear that going after militant groups inside Afghanistan unilaterally presents its own set of difficulties.
Chipping in
29 Mar, 2024

Chipping in

FEDERAL infrastructure development schemes are located in the provinces. Most such projects — for instance,...
Toxic emitters
29 Mar, 2024

Toxic emitters

IT is concerning to note that dozens of industries have been violating environmental laws in and around Islamabad....
Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...