PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench has directed the National Accountability Bureau chairman and its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa director-general to respond to a builder’s petition seeking the quashing of an inquiry against him about the alleged fraud in the garb of an illegal housing society.

Justice Lal Jan Khattak and Justice Shahid Khan also issued a stay order suspending the NAB’s directions to a private bank to freeze two accounts of petitioner Jehan Alam, who owns the Paradise Developers and Builders company.

The bench fixed Aug 11 for next hearing while seeking comments of the NAB chairman and its provincial director-general on the petition.

Advocate Ashfaq Ahmad Daudzai appeared for the petitioner and requested the court to declare the NAB inquiry against his client illegal in light of the amendments made to the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, through the National Accountability (Amendment) Act, 2022.

PHC also suspends orders for freezing petitioner’s bank accounts

He said the NAB had initiated the inquiry on the allegations of cheating public at large under the garb of sale of plots in the City Galaxy Housing Scheme, an illegal housing society on Peshawar’s Ring Road.

The lawyer argued that in the recent amendment public at large had been defined as at least 100 people, whereas the case in hand didn’t come within the definition of public as the number of the alleged affected people were much less.

He said the proceedings so started by the bureau were against the law.

Mr Daudzai pointed out that the petitioner in 2006 had made investment with Ubaidur Rehman, the actual owner of the City Galaxy Housing Scheme.

He said his client had gone to perform Haj in 2007 and in his absence, that man had sold numerous plots in the scheme.

The lawyer contended that last year, a call-up notice was issued to the petitioner regarding initiation of the said inquiry following which he appeared before a combined investigation team.

He added that the petitioner provided entire information to the investigation team, whereas those who made the business transaction or carried out marketing with buyers had gone into hiding at that time.

Mr Daudzai said the start of inquiry in the case was without lawful authority, having no mandate in the matter as in the absence of element of fraud and inducement, the offence of cheating public at large did not constitute at all.

He said the NAB had also imposed ‘caution’ under Section 23 of the National Accountability Ordinance on two bank accounts of the petitioners without reasonable grounds.

The lawyer said under Section 23, once a caution was issued against a property, it couldn’t be altered or transferred.

He said that section of the ordinance had also been omitted through the recent amendments and therefore, the caution imposed against two bank accounts might also be removed.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2022