ISLAMABAD, Dec 28: Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan of Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday referred the post-arrest bail application of former director general Haj Rao Shakeel, the prime accused in the Haj corruption case, to another judge.

Justice Khan took the decision after he was informed by the prosecution that the bench of Justice Mohammad Anwar Kasi had already heard identical petitions.

“Justice Kasi has been hearing the matters pertinent to the Haj corruption so this bail application may also be fixed before the said bench during the third week of January,” observed Justice Khan.

On October 17, the special judge central (SJC) had rejected Mr Shakeel’s bail plea.

Earlier, Sheikh Ahsanuddin, the counsel for Mr Shakeel, adopted before the court that the SJC had on Aug 27 granted bail to Hamid Saeed Kazmi, a former federal minister and a co-accused in the case.

He also argued that the trial of the accused had not been completed within three months as directed by the Supreme Court in June this year. When the co-accused has been granted bail, the application of the main accused cannot be rejected, he argued.

However, Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali, the FIA special prosecutor, told the court that the nature of the offences against Mr Shakeel and the former minister was different.

According to him, Mr Shakeel had been indicted for fraud, cheating, misuse of authority and causing loss to the national exchequer.

The law of consistency, according to which the main accused could be granted bail after a co-accused is bailed out, is not applicable in the matter, he maintained.

He said the SJC had indicted the former minister for negligence while Mr Shakeel was facing the charges of fraud, misuse of authority and corruption.