ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has redefined the powers of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for issuing call-up notices to individuals and declared that a person could be summoned only after thorough verification.

An IHC division bench, comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, authored the judgement while disposing of a petition filed by Rukhsana Bangash, of the Peoples Party, seeking bail in an ongoing inquiry.

Senator Farooq H. Naek argued before the court that Rukhsana Bangash was facing an inquiry being conducted by NAB and had received a call-up notice from the bureau.

Mr Naek argued that the notice was issued in violation of the guidelines given by the Supreme Court during the hearing of a case against Arsalan Iftikhar, the son of former Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

IHC redefines powers enjoyed by the anti-graft watchdog

The lawyer expressed an apprehension that the bureau could arrest his client in a case related to her son.

Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi, the deputy prosecutor general, said neither warrants for arrest had been issued aga­i­nst Rukhsana Bangash nor was any such proposal under consideration.

Mr Abbasi said that since the apex court had held that call-up notices were against the law, the bureau issued an amended questionnaire.

He told the court that the inquiry against Ms Bangash’s son was initiated after the receipt of a letter from the Financial Monitoring Unit regarding two transactions made by him for purchase of foreign currency totalling $21,000 in one day.

The bench observed that NAB had powers to call for information under Section 19 of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO).

The bench further noted that the apex court and the Sindh High Court had examined the bureau’s powers to seek information and ask an accused person or a witness to appear before an investigation officer.

The IHC bench was of the opinion that the call-up notice issued to Ms Bangash was against the guidelines laid down by superior courts and held that a person being called either as witness or accused was entitled to know the reason for having been summoned.

The Islamabad High Court then redefined the criteria for issuance of a call-up notice, specifying that it should clearly state the reasons for an ‘inquiry’ or ‘investigation’.

In case of a witness, the notice must state the purpose for which the individual is being summoned and if the person is a custodian of record, “the call-up notice should state so and the details of the documents and record”.

The court expressed the hope that the National Accountability Bureau would follow these guidelines while summoning a person in connection with an inquiry or investigation.

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2021