ISLAMABAD:Supreme Court (SC) Tuesday issued notice to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) over bail petition of Pakistan People Party (PPP) leader Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah in assets beyond means case.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial heard the bail plea filed by Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah.
During the course of proceedings, the counsel for the petitioner said his client was in jail for more than one year and pleaded the court to grant him bail.
The court said the NAB had assured the court on June 4, that it would file a supplementary reference in two weeks. NAB had not yet filed a supplementary reference against Khursheed Shah, it added.
The court was informed that so far, only five of the 44 witness statements had been recorded.
The counsel said Sindh High Court on July 27, dismissed the bail case of Khursheed Shah. He said the bail petition was filed on delay in trial and hardship grounds.
He said according to the NAB the supplementary reference would be filed in two weeks. The statements of all the witnesses would be taken anew after filing the NAB supplementary reference, he added.
He said NAB arrested Khursheed Shah on September 18, 2019 and filed a reference on December 19, 2019. The NAB framed the charge on November 30, 2020 after 14 months, he added.
He said the bail was sought from the court on the basis of delay in trial.
Justice Bandial asked the counsel that he was seeking bail on hardship whether his client was in solitary confinement.
Justice Muneeb said Sindh High Court had stated that Khursheed Shah was in hospital and did not suffer from any serious illness. No one wanted to be in the hospital, but the groundwork for the hardship was not clear, he added.
Later, the court issued notice to NAB and adjourned hearing till after summer vacation.