ISLAMABAD: A two-member bench of the Supreme Court has called on the government to submit a reply over the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) power of voluntary return.
Media reported that in his remarks during the case proceedings, Justice Azmat Saeed said that NAB was facilitating corruption as it had resumed the hearing of a case regarding voluntary return of funds. The power of voluntary return allows an individual to pay the amount earned illegally back to the public exchequer and get acquitted of all charges.
Justice Saeed remarked that a peon who takes a Rs 250 bribe would be sent to jail while a person who takes Rs 25 million as a bribe is let go.
The judge said, “Why doesn’t NAB place advertisements of “do corruption, get corruption done” in the paper?”
In reply, a NAB prosecutor said that NAB had not formulated the voluntary return law. In response, Justice Saeed said that NAB was misusing the law and added, “Why doesn’t NAB lay its hands on the big fish?”
The hearing of the case was adjourned for two weeks. The Supreme Court had revoked powers of voluntary return from the NAB chairman in October.
