ISLAMABAD, Sept 16: The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved judgment on a review petition filed by the National Accountability Bureau against the grant of bail to a former Awami National Party's member of parliament, Haji Nasimur Rehman.

The Supreme Court had earlier granted bail before arrest to Nasimur Rehman. A three-member bench, comprising Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Rana Bhagwandas and Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi, was hearing the review petition.

The bench also granted the bureau leave to appeal in six other cases against Haji Nasimur Rehman and his other family members, against their acquittal by the Peshawar High Court.

The high court had released them by declaring that since the wealth the accused had accumulated to Rs1.3 million during the period he held the public office against the allegation of amassing properties worth Rs820 million, therefore, he was liable to be released. Nasimur Rehman was facing the charge of amassing wealth beyond his known source of income.

NAB's former prosecutor-general Navid Rasul pleaded the bureau's case and argued that the grant of bail without the surrender of an accused was a nullity in the law and therefore the court should re-visit its earlier decision of granting bail to him.

Senior advocate Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim while appearing on behalf of Nasimur Rehman said that the trial court had already acquitted the accused, therefore, it would be futile to discuss why the apex court had granted bail to the accused.

Meanwhile, in the case against the acquittal, NAB's Prosecutor-General Irfan Qadir stated that opinions of Peshawar High Court, the Sindh High Court and the Lahore High Court differed on the question of applicability of the National Accountability Ordinance with regard to holders of public office and any other persons. He said that the ordinance applies not only to holders of public office but to all citizens of Pakistan.