Lahore: NAB has been fined Rs 200,000 on a petition against the decision to provide copies of witness statements to Pervaiz Elahi.
The High Court has issued a written decision imposing a fine of Rs 200,000 on NAB Lahore for filing an application in a case related to Pervaiz Elahi. The decision of a two-member bench headed by Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh consists of 19 pages.
It should be noted that NAB Lahore had challenged the decision to provide copies of witness statements in Pervaiz Elahi’s inquiry. Earlier, Pervaiz Elahi had sought copies of witness statements in a reference of alleged corruption in development projects.
The court said in its decision that Article 10A of the Constitution guarantees a fair trial to the accused. NAB’s law gives the accused the right to provide copies of the inquiry to the accused. According to Section 18C of the NAB Ordinance, copies can be given when an inquiry is converted into an investigation.
In the judgment, the court said that there is a law to provide copies of witness statements at this stage. According to the Evidence Act, the prosecution also has the right to provide copies of witness statements against an accused. There are also precedents of decisions of the High Court in this regard.
It was further written in the written judgment that according to NAB, there is no right to provide copies of witness statements in an inquiry. According to the NAB prosecutor, the accountability court’s decision to provide copies of witness statements is contrary to the facts. According to the NAB lawyer, copies of statements recorded during the inquiry stage cannot be provided. The NAB court exceeded its jurisdiction while giving the judgment.
The Lahore High Court said in its judgment that the court rejects NAB’s application with a fine of Rs 200,000.
