PESHAWAR, April 19: A single bench of the Peshawar High Court on Friday granted bail to an SDO of building division, Swat, accused of misappropriation of funds in connivance with other officials.

The bench comprising Justice Dost Muhammad Khan directed that the accused applicant, Habibur Rehman, should be released after furnishing two sureties of Rs5,00,000 each. Other accused in the case are Executive Engineer Abdul Qayyum Marwat, Divisional Accounts Officer Hanifullah and a contractor, Wajid Ali.

An FIR was registered against them at the police station of anti-corruption establishment, swat, on May 7, 2001, under Section 409 of Pakistan Penal Code and Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947.

The prosecution has alleged that the SDO, along with his accomplices, accepted a tender of Wajid Ali for the supply of signboards at the rate of Rs4,876 per piece while its market rate was Rs443. Thus they caused a huge loss to the public exchequer.

According to a record the XEN involved in the crime has been absconding and has gone abroad.

Advocates Abdul Latif Afridi and Mian Fazle Amin appeared for the applicant and argued that under the rules and according to the record, co-accused XEN Marwat was the competent authority who had issued a public notice to the Press under his signature inviting tenders.

They argued that in response to the said notice various sealed tenders were received and the XEN accepted the tender of Wajid Ali. But the applicant had no contribution nor had involved his official position in finalizing the tender, they added.

Deputy Advocate General Malik Ahmad Jan appeared for the provincial government and argued that the actual rate of signboard had been determined as Rs443 per piece, therefore misappropriation of public money was well established.

He stated that the applicant was next to the XEN, thus he was definitely involved in the matter and could not be given a clean chit.