Karachi: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday dismissed bail application filed on medical grounds by the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) lawmaker Sharjeel Inam Memon in Rs5.76billion corruption case.
Sharjeel, along with the officials of a private advertising agency Inam Akbar, Riaz Munir, Mohammad Hanif, Asim Amir Khan Sikandar and others was being tried in the reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The bureau had maintained that the accused persons in connivance with each other had caused billions of rupees loss to the national exchequer through ‘embezzling’ in the Sindh information department’s electronic campaign.
The accused persons’ pre-arrest bail was revoked by the SHC on October 23 last year as well as their bail after arrest applications were also dismissed.
Sharjeel through his counsel submitted that he was suffering from serous disease but had not been provided due medical facilities in the prison. The lawyer requested the court to grant him a bail on medical grounds, maintaining that the medical board had advised proper treatment.
On the other hand, the NAB prosecutor opposed the bail pleas and contended that there were sufficient evidences of corruption in the provincial information department and the case was being tried in the Accountability Court. The corruption watchdog prayed to the court to turn down bail applications.
Earlier, The Supreme Court on Saturday formed a new medical board comprising Neurosurgeon from Punjab and others prominent doctors of military hospital to medially examine the PPP lawmaker.
According to NAB, Sharjeel and 17 others, in connivance with each other, had caused Rs 5.76 billion loss to the national exchequer through the embezzlement in the Sindh government’s advertisement campaign on electronic media.
The bureau said in its reference filed in the Accountability Court that the investigation was conducted regarding corruption and corrupt practices in the advertisement awareness campaigns on TV and FM channels between July 2013 and June 2015 and it was found that the accused acted in connivance with each other resulting in loss to the national exchequer.