KARACHI, July 12: A division bench of the Sindh High Court, through a short order, suspended the sentence awarded by an accountability court and granted bail on merit to Asher Jan who had challenged the judgment in a NAB reference case.

The bench comprised Justice Zahid Kurban Alavi and Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany.

The appellant, a sales manager of the Murree Brewery Company, was awarded seven years’ rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs20 million. In case of non-payment he was required to serve three more years.

The appellant’s counsel, Barrister Kamal Azfar and Mahmood Alam Rizvi, contended that 12 witnesses had been examined and nothing was found on record that the appellant had the knowledge that import permits were fake.

The counsel said the appellant lived in Rawalpindi while the import permits were forged in Karachi. It was their contention that the appellant had been punished on the basis of the letters sent by the United Wine Merchant for the order of wine.

The counsel contended that the letters were covering letters sent by shopkeepers with the import permit with duty paid. This, they argued, was a procedure followed by all customers in Pakistan.

In the letters nowhere it was alleged that import permits were fake.

The consignment was supplied to the customer through the Punjab Excise Department and the impugned letters were supplied by the appellant. Had he been involved in the transaction he could have concealed them, the counsel argued.

They claimed that the investigation was defective and even the same was not proved. The ground for appeal included that the trial judge had failed to appreciate that all the record was produced by the appellant to the NAB as the NAB had no such documents.

Even initially the NAB had exonerated the appellant and his company, but due to mala fide intention released the actual culprits and booked the appellant without cogent evidence.

Aamir Raza, special prosecutor of the NAB, opposed the bail.

FIA RESTRAINED: A division bench of Sindh High Court, comprising senior Judge Justice Sabihuddin Ahmad and Justice Zia Pervez, on Friday passed order in a constitutional petition, restraining the Federal Investigation Agency from harassing the petitioner, Adamjee Insurance Company, adds PPI.