KARACHI, March 17: The Pakistan Post Office has agreed to refund the deposits misappropriated by its retired employee at the city courts postal savings centre within 15 days of "the admission of the individual claims by the Sindh High Court".
In a statement submitted on Wednesday through Deputy Attorney-General Syed Zaki Mohammad, the post office, however, expressed its inability to deposit the amount of Rs298.207 million misappropriated by Izhar Hussain, a retired assistant director, with the SHC nazir.
The statement was made in response to a court query on the last date of the hearing of the affected lawyers' plea. As suggested by the petitioners' counsel, Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, the division bench comprising Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Justice S. Ali Aslam Jafri had asked the respondents whether the amount admittedly embezzled should not be deposited with the SHC nazir for repayment to the depositors?
The post office submitted: "The amount in such cases (of misappropriation) is drawn from the public exchequer in favour of the claimants on the authority of sanction of their claims by the competent authority."
It annexed the procedure for settlement of claims to its statement and assured that they would be satisfied within 15 days of their clearance by the court.
According to the prescribed procedure, each claimant has to submit his original pass book or certificate/s, an affidavit and a copy of his national identity card along with an application.
All deposit and withdrawal forms on the Post Office record would be sent to a handwriting expert and if signature of an account holder is verified as genuine, "the balance of account or the amount of deposit or withdrawal noted therein shall be treated as final".
Specimens of application, affidavit and other documents were annexed to the statement. The post office also requested the court to direct the National Accountability Bureau to recover the misappropriated amount from the accused, who is in its custody. It would have no objection to the deposit of any amount so recovered with the SHC nazir.
The statement informed the bench that it had been asked by the NAB authorities not to admit any claim till "the finalization of investigations into the case". Further proceedings on the lawyers' and other depositors' petitions were adjourned till March 31.
BAIL CONFIRMED: A division bench of the Sindh High Court has confirmed the bail of a former official of the Hyderabad Electronic Limited in a corruption case, adds APP.
The bench comprising Justice Shabbir Ahmed and Justice Mohammad Sadiq Leghari on Wednesday confirmed the bail of former Hyderabad Electronic Limited deputy managing director Mohammad Siddique, and ordered to submit surety of Rs1 million against the bail.
An FIR was lodged by the FIA (banking circle) in 1998 according to which, Zakria Ghani and others of the Hyderabad Electronics Limited had obtained a loan of Rs16.2 million on fake documents.
Advocate Salim Salam Ansari, counsel for the petitioner, had contended before the court that neither the petitioner had signed any loan documents nor he was in service at the time when the loan was obtained/applied or sanctioned.
In the order, the division bench had observed that no documents of loan was signed and executed by the petitioner, except the account opening on behalf of the company in the capacity of general manager, many years before time of the offence.
The court said that the petition was also entitled for bail due to the rule of consistency, as bail had been granted to other accused in the case. The divisional bench which admitted the accused/applicant to interim bail on Oct 17, 2002, confirmed the bail on the same terms by virtue of the order announced on Wednesday.