SHC hints at referring Rs8.5bn Yellow Line graft case to NAB over ‘lack of progress’
• Bench irked by ‘continued and unexplained failure’ of Anti-Corruption Establishment in filing charge sheet • Issues show cause to ACE chairman KARACHI: Expressing annoyance over “continued and unexplained failure” of the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) to file a charge sheet before the trial court in a case pertaining to alleged corruption of Rs8.5 billion in the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)…
The Sindh High Court (SHC) has suggested that the Rs8.5 billion Yellow Line graft case be referred to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) due to the Anti-Corruption Establishment's (ACE) "continued and unexplained failure" in filing a charge sheet. The two-judge constitutional bench, led by Justice Mohammad Saleem Jessar, expressed concern over the delay in presenting the charge sheet, which they deemed indicative of serious negligence.
They questioned whether the investigation was being deliberately delayed to protect the accused or prejudice the prosecution case. The bench directed the ACE chairman and other respondents to explain the lack of progress, given that the issue concerned a major public sector infrastructure project in Karachi. The FIR was lodged after completing an enquiry, but no report under Section 173 of the Criminal Procedure Code had been filed despite the statutory requirement for investigation completion within 14 days.
The bench adjourned the hearing until October 7 and ordered the office to communicate the order to the relevant authorities.
Written by urgent.news from Dawn - Pakistan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
