The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday issued notices to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) while hearing the bail application of PPP leader Sharjeel Memon and five others.

On Nov 25, the PPP leader had filed an appeal in the apex court, challenging the Sindh High Court's decision to reject his bail in a reference pertaining to the award of advertisements at 'exorbitant rates' through the abuse of his power.

In his appeal, Memon had said that he should be granted bail since NAB does not have any evidence against him, adding that his arrest was in contradiction with accountability laws.

During Wednesday's hearing, notices were issued to the bureau in reference to the applications submitted before the apex court by Memon as well as Inam Akbar and four others, who were arrested by NAB on October 23. The applications ask the SC to order NAB to dismiss the corruption references against them.

"Inam Akbar has challenged NAB chairman's jurisdiction to issue arrest warrants," Advocate Lateef Khosa told the court.

The court subsequently ordered NAB to submit a reply, adjourning the hearing until the first week of January.

Whisked away by NAB

A team from NAB had taken Memon into custody on Oct 23 after the SHC had rejected his bail plea in a corruption case.

Following the rejection of his bail plea, Memon had holed up for hours in a courtroom to avoid arrest as his team explored their options, but could not stave off the inevitable for long.

As soon as Memon exited the building, surrounded in a tight cordon by his lawyers and supporters, he was nabbed by representatives of the accountability bureau and whisked away.

In a previous hearing of the case, NAB had said that it investigated corruption and corrupt practices in the award of advertisements against the law and at exorbitant rates to TV channels and FM radio stations for various awareness campaigns between July 2013 and June 2015. It said it had found that the accused acted with the connivance of each other, resulting in losses to the national exchequer.

The PPP leader is also facing a separate reference regarding illegal adjustment and consolidation of hundreds of acres of land in favour of a private housing project.