2019 PLP 2855 (YLR)

AMJAD ALI SAHITO, J.

By this common order, we intend to dispose of the above bail before arrest petitions filed by the petitioners namely Shahabuddin Mangi, Rizwan Ali Shaikh, Zulfiqar Ali Shaikh, Ghulam Ali Jakhar, Ghulam Mustafa Jakhro, Saeed Ali Channo, Khalid Hussain Shaikh, Wazir Ali Soomro, Khadim Hussain Lakhair, Abdul Latif Jakhro, Fahad Khan, Zakir Hussain Mangi, Amjad Ali Abro, Dileep Kumar, Tahir Aziz alias Abdul Rub Mangi, Niaz Hussain Magsi, Masood Ahmed Bhutto, Ghous Bux Jatoi, Hidayatullah Memon and Ahsan Ali Siyal, so also Post-arrest Bail Petition No.D-2274/2017 filed by petitioner Sohail Ahmed Soomro in NAB Reference No. 09 of 2017 (The State v. Masood Bhutto and others).

2. The relevant facts, as set out in Reference No.09 of 2017, are that an inquiry was authorized, wherein it is alleged that officers/officials of Town Committee Bakrani have misappropriated the government funds of TMA, therefore, after accumulation of the tangible material upgraded the inquiry into investigation, whereas, during investigation 01 accused person namely Zakir Hussain son of Ali Nawaz Dhamraho, Proprietor Messrs Zakir Hussain and Co. applied for plea bargain and the same was recommended by the competent authority and the embezzled amount was recovered from him and he was deemed to be convicted under Section 15(b) of NAO 1999. Furthermore, it is established that the officers and officials of TMA Bakrani from the period 01.01.2013 to 30.06.2016 in connivance with contractors have misappropriated the government funds in violation of the codal formalities for payments, as there was no NIT/tenders published, no work carried out at the site and no measurement books (MBs) were maintained, thus the payments made were illegal and unlawful. The officials/officers of TMA Bakrani while misusing their authority entrusted to them failed to exercise their authority and rendered undue benefits / favour to the contracts to withdraw the government funds for which the accused / contractors were not lawfully entitled, as such caused loss to the exchequer and acquired gains amounting to Rs.21,25,32,805/-, whereas, one of the accused (contractor) entered into plea bargain as such an amount of Rs.09,63,515/- was recovered and the remaining misappropriated amount is Rs.21,15,69,290/-, hence the warrants for arrest of the accused were issued by the competent authority.

3. The allegation against accused No.1 Masood Ahmed Bhutto Ex-Administrator Town Committee Bakrani, petitioner No.1 in C. P. No. D-2257/2017 is that during his incumbency tenures from 10.12.2014 to 20.01.2015, 24.08.2015 to 31.12.2015 and 06.08.2016 to 19.09.2016, he in connivance with accused Nos.7 and 11, officials of TMA Bakrani and accused Nos.12 to 15, 18, 22, 28 and 31 (contractors) misused his authority in violation of codal formalities by signing payment vouchers, issued payments through 53 cheques to those contractors, whereas no work carried out at the site, as such caused loss to the government exchequer to the tune of Rs.2,98,68,805/- and his individual liability and gains are amounting to Rs.64,76,281/-.

4. The allegation against accused No.2/Ghous Bux Jatoi Ex-Administrator Town Committee, petitioner No.2 in C. P. No. D-2257/2017 is that during his incumbency tenures from 04.01.2016 to 05.08.2016, he in connivance with accused Nos.7, 8 and 11, officers/ officials of TMA Bakrani and accused Nos.12, 14, 15, 18, 19, 24, 27 and 30 (contractors) misused his authority in violation of codal formalities by signing payment vouchers, issued payments through 46 cheques to those contractors, whereas no work carried out at the site, as such caused loss to the government exchequer to the tune of Rs.2,23,92,028/- and his individual liability and gains are amounting to Rs.51,97,584/-.

5. The accused No.3 Hidayatullah Memon, ADC-I/Ex-Administrator TMA Bakrani petitioner No. 3 in C.P. No.D-2257/2017 during his incumbency tenures from 23.01.2015 to 30.03.2015 and 14.04.2015 to 15.04.2015 in connivance with accused Nos.7 and 11, officers/officials of TMA Bakrani and accused Nos.12 to 15 and 34 (contractors) misused his authority and signed payment vouchers issued payments through 30 cheques and allowed unauthorized to the contractors while no work carried out at the site, as such caused loss to the government exchequer to the tune of Rs.2,14,14,249/-, whereas his individual liability and gains are amounting to Rs.46,83,256/-.

6. The accused No.04/ Sohail Ahmed Soomro, Ex-Administrator TMA Bakrani, the petitioner in C.P D-2274/ 2017, during his incumbency tenures from 14.05.2014 to 09.12.2014 and 13.04.2015 to 04.08.2015 in connivance with accused Nos.7 and 11, officers/officials of TMA Bakrani and accused Nos.12, 13, 15, 17, 20, 21, 25, 33 and 36 and Zakir Hussain (opted P.B.) (contractor) misused his authority and signed payment vouchers issued payments through 88 cheques and allowed unauthorized to the contractors while no work carried out at the site, as such caused loss to the government exchequer to the tune of Rs.7,15,41,153/-, whereas his individual liability and gains are amounting to Rs.1,95,15,553/-.

7. The accused No.5 Shahabuddin Mangi, the petitioner in C.P.D-155/2017, Ex-Town Officer/TMA Bakrani, petitioner No.1 in C.P. No. D-155/2017 during his incumbency tenure from 05.07.2012 to 14.06.2013 in connivance with accused No.10, officers/officials of TMA Bakrani and accused Nos.12, 14, 17, 26, 34, 35 and 37 (contractors) misused his authority by signing payment vouchers and issued payments through 23 cheques to those contractors, who had not carried out any work at the site, as such he has caused loss to the government exchequer to the tune of Rs.2,14,85,294/- whereas, his individual liability is 61,05,895/.

8. The accused No.9 Zakir Hussain Mangi, Ex-Town Officer/Accountant TMA Bakrani, the petitioner No.1 in C.P. No. D-2177/2017 during his incumbency tenures from 05.09.2013 to 12.02.2014 in connivance with accused Nos.6 and 7 officials/officers of TMA Bakrani and accused Nos.12, 14, 15, 17, 18 and 20 (contractors) misused his authority by signing payment vouchers and issued payments through 17 cheques to those contractors who had not carried out any work at the site, as such he has caused loss to the government exchequer to the tune of Rs.1,81,05,454/-, whereas, his individual liability gains are amounting to Rs.45,26,363/-.

9. The accused No.10 Dileep Kumar, Ex- Town Officer/Accounts Officer TMA Bakrani, the petitioner in C.P. No. D-2256/2017, during his incumbency tenures from 03.01.2013 to 09.9.2013 in connivance with accused Nos.5 and 7 officials/officers of TMA Bakrani and accused Nos.12, 14, 15, 17, 26 and 32 (contractors) misused his authority by signing payment vouchers and issued payments through 30 cheques to those contractors who had not carried out any work at the site, as such he has caused loss to the government exchequer to the tune of Rs.2,80,36,955/-, whereas, his individual liability and gains are amounting to Rs.64,25,984/-.

10. The accused No.11/Ahsan Ali Siyal, Ex-Accountant TMA Bakrani, the petitioner No.4 in C.P. No. D-2257/2017, during his incumbency tenures from 26.03.2012 to 30.09.2016 in connivance with accused Nos.1 to 4, 7 and 8 Officials/officers of TMA Bakrani and accused Nos.12 to 15, 17, 25, 27 to 31, 33, 34 and 36 (contractors) misused his authority by signing 236 cheques to those contractors who had not carried out any work at the site, as such he has caused loss to the government exchequer to the tune of Rs.16,84,38,136/-, whereas, his individual liability and gains are amounting to Rs.3,10,02,624/-.

11. The accused No.12/ Niaz Hussain Magsi, Government Contractor, Proprietor Messrs Niaz Hussain and Co. in Town Committee /TMA Bakrani, the petitioner in C. P. No. D-2415/2017 in connivance with accused Nos. 1 to 5, 7 and 9 to 11 managed and withdraw through 27 cheques payments into his bank accounts received from 02 bank accounts of TMA Bakrani for works which were neither willfully awarded nor executed by the accused, therefore, all the payments were illegal, whereas, he was instrumental to the accused Nos.1 to 5, 7 and 9 to 11 in misappropriation of government funds, as such they all caused loss to the government exchequer and acquired the gains to the tune of Rs.2,06,18,544/-, whereas, his individual liability and gains are Rs.1,03,09,272/-

12. The accused No.13/ Rizwan Ali Shaikh, Government Contractor, Proprietor Messrs Ali Traders Govt. Contractor in Town Committee/TMA Bakrani, the petitioner No. 1 in C.P.D.-2046/2017, in connivance with accused Nos.1, 3, 4, 7 and 11 managed and withdraw through 36 cheques payments into his bank accounts received from 02 bank accounts of TMA Bakrani for the works which were neither willfully awarded nor executed by the accused, therefore, all the payments were illegal, whereas, he was instrumental to the accused Nos.1, 3, 4, 7 and 11 in misappropriation of government funds, as such they all caused loss to the government exchequer and acquired the gains to the tune of Rs.2,31,58,056/-, whereas, his individual liability and gains are Rs.1,15,79,028/-

13. The accused No.15/Zulfiqar Ali Shaikh, Government Contractor, Proprietor Messrs G.S. Enterprises, Government Contractor in Town Committee/TMA Bakrani, the petitioner No.2 in C.P.D.-2046/2017, in connivance with accused Nos. 1 to 4, 6, 7 and 9 to 11 managed and withdraw through 62 cheques payments into his bank accounts received from 02 bank accounts of TMA Bakrani for works which were neither willfully awarded nor executed by the accused, therefore, all the payments were illegal, whereas, he was instrumental to the accused Nos.1 to 4, 6, 7 and 9 to 11 in misappropriation of government funds, as such they all caused loss to the government exchequer and acquired the gains to the tune of Rs.4,56,63,161/-, whereas, his individual liability and gains are Rs.2,28,31,581/-.

14. The accused No.17/ Ghulam Ali Jakhar, Proprietor M.K.K General Material Supplier, Government Contractor in Town Committee /TMA Bakrani, the petitioner No.3 in C.P. D-2046/2017, in connivance with accused Nos. 4 to 7, 9 and 10 managed and withdraw through 19 cheques payments into his bank accounts received from 01 bank account of TMA Bakrani for works which were neither willfully awarded nor executed by the accused, therefore, all the payments were illegal, whereas, he was instrumental to the accused Nos.4 to 7, 9 and 10 in misappropriation of government funds, as such they all caused loss to the government exchequer and acquired the gains to the tune of Rs.1,86,35,112/-, whereas, his individual liability and gains are Rs.93,17,556/-.

15. The accused No.18/ Ghulam Mustafa, Government Contractor, Proprietor Messrs Ghulam Mustafa Jakhro and Messrs Saras Builders, Government Contractor in Town Committee/TMA Bakrani, the petitioner No.4 in C.P.D.-2046/2017, in connivance with accused Nos. 1, 2, 7 and 9 to 11 managed and withdraw through 12 cheques payments into his bank accounts received from 01 bank account of TMA Bakrani for works which were neither willfully awarded nor executed by the accused, therefore, all the payments were illegal, whereas, he was instrumental to the accused Nos.1, 2, 7 and 9 to 11 in misappropriation of government funds, as such they all caused loss to the government exchequer and acquired the gains to the tune of Rs.88,51,829/-, whereas, his individual liability and gains are Rs.44,25,914/-

16. The accused No.19/Saeed Ali Channo, Government Contractor, Proprietor Messrs Saeed Ali Construction Company in Town Committee/TMA Bakrani, the petitioner No. 5 in C.P. D-2046/2017, in connivance with accused Nos. 2, 8 and 11 managed and withdraw through 19 cheques payments into his bank accounts received from 01 bank account of TMA Bakrani for works which were neither willfully awarded nor executed by the accused, therefore, all the payments were illegal, whereas, he was instrumental to the accused Nos.2, 8 and 11 in misappropriation of government funds, as such they all caused loss to the government exchequer and acquired the gains to the tune of Rs.31,49,616/-, whereas, his individual liability and gains are Rs.15,74,808/-.

17. The accused No.20/ Khalid Hussain Shaikh, Government Contractor, Proprietor Messrs Mehran Enterprises, Government Contractor in Town Committee/TMA Bakrani, the petitioner No.6 in C.P.D.-2046/2017, in connivance with accused Nos. 4, 6, 7, 9 and 11 managed and withdraw through 07 cheques payments into his bank accounts received from 02 bank accounts of TMA Bakrani for works which were neither willfully awarded nor executed by the accused, therefore, all the payments were illegal, whereas, he was instrumental to the accused Nos.4, 6, 7, 9 and 11 in misappropriation of government funds, as such they all caused loss to the government exchequer and acquired the gains to the tune of Rs.96,33,585/-, whereas, his individual liability and gains are Rs.48,16,929/-.

18. The accused No.21/ Wazir Ali Soomro, Proprietor Wazir Ali General Material Supplier Government Contractor in Town Committee/TMA Bakrani, the petitioner No.7 in C.P. D-2046/2017, in connivance with accused Nos. 4, 7 and 11 managed and withdraw through 11 cheques payments into his bank accounts received from 01 bank accounts of TMA Bakrani for works which were neither willfully awarded nor executed by the accused, therefore, all the payments were illegal, whereas, he was instrumental to the accused Nos.4, 7 and 11 in misappropriation of government funds, as such they all caused loss to the government exchequer and acquired the gains to the tune of Rs.1,33,91,778/-, whereas, his individual liability and gains are Rs.66,95,889/-

19. The accused No.23/ Khadim Hussain Lakhair, General Material Supplier Government Contractor in Town Committee/TMA Bakrani, the petitioner No.8 in C.P. D-2046/2017, in connivance with accused Nos.7 and 11 managed and withdraw through 5 cheques payments into his bank accounts received from 01 bank account of TMA Bakrani for works which were neither willfully awarded nor executed by the accused, therefore, all the payments were illegal, whereas, he was instrumental to the accused Nos.7 and 11 in misappropriation of government funds, as such they all caused loss to the government exchequer and acquired the gains to the tune of Rs.60,63,328/-, whereas, his individual liability and gains are Rs.30,31,664/-

20. The accused No.24/ Abdul Latif Jakhro, Proprietor Messrs Abdul Latif, Government Contractor in Town Committee /TMA Bakrani, the petitioner No.9 in C.P. D-2046/2017, in connivance with accused Nos. 2 and 11 managed and withdraw through 06 cheques payments into his bank accounts received from 01 bank account of TMA Bakrani for works which were neither willfully awarded nor executed by the accused, therefore, all the payments were illegal, whereas, he was instrumental to the accused Nos.2 and 11 in misappropriation of government funds, as such they all caused loss to the government exchequer and acquired the gains to the tune of Rs.20,79,794/-, whereas, his individual liability and gains are Rs.10,39,897/-.

21. The accused No.25/Amjad Ali Abro, Government Contractor, Proprietor Messrs Amjad Ali Abro, Government Contractor in Town Committee/TMA Bakrani, the petitioner in C.P.D.-2253/ 2017 in connivance with accused Nos. 3, 7 and 11 managed and withdraw through 05 cheques payments into his bank account received from 01 bank accounts of TMA Bakrani for works which were neither willfully awarded nor executed by the accused, therefore, all the payments were illegal, whereas, he was instrumental to the accused Nos.3, 7 and 11 in misappropriation of government funds, as such they all caused loss to the government exchequer and acquired the gains to the tune of Rs.39,63,619/-, whereas, his individual liability and gains are Rs.19,81,810/-.

22. The accused No.27/ Fahad Khan, Government Contractor, Proprietor Messrs Shahbaz Construction Company Government Contractor in Town Committee/TMA Bakrani, the petitioner No.10 in C.P. D-2046/2017, in connivance with accused Nos. 2, 8 and 11 managed and withdraw through 03 cheques payments into his bank account received from 01 bank account of TMA Bakrani for works which were neither willfully awarded nor executed by the accused, therefore, all the payments were illegal, whereas, he was instrumental to the accused Nos.2, 8 and 11 in misappropria-tion of government funds, as such they all caused loss to the government exchequer and acquired the gains to the tune of Rs.32,00,021/-, whereas, his individual liability and gains are Rs.16,00,011/-.

23. The accused No.37/ Tahir Aziz alias Abdul Rub Mangi, Government Contractor in Town Committee /TMA Bakrani, the petitioner in C.P. D-2259/ 2017, in connivance with accused Nos. 5 and 10 managed and withdraw through 03 cheques payments into his bank account received from 01 bank account of TMA Bakrani for works which were neither willfully awarded nor executed by the accused, therefore, all the payments were illegal, whereas, he was instrumental to the accused Nos.5 and 10 in misappropriation of government funds, as such they all caused loss to the government exchequer and acquired the gains to the tune of Rs.29,31,254/-, whereas, his individual liability and gains are Rs.14,65,627/-.

24. Mr. Nisar Ahmed Bhanbhro Advocate for petitioner Masood Ahmed Bhutto, Ghous Bux Jatoi and Hidayatullah contended that the petitioners/applicants are innocent and have falsely been implicated in this case. The petitioners during their incumbencies never misused their authority and after completing all codal formalities by relying upon the rules have signed payment vouchers issued payments through cheques to the contractors, when it was verified that the work has been done at the site; that there is no allegation against the petitioners that they have got wrongful gains or caused any loss to the government exchequer but NAB authorities malafidely with ulterior have implicated the petitioners in this false reference; that co-accused namely Abdul Sattar, Zafar Ali, Mazhar Ali, Akhtar Ali, Javed Ali and Khadim Hussain in C.Ps. Nos.D-2038, 2046, 2113, 2173, 2255 and 2258 of 2017 respectively have been granted pre-arrest bail in the same Reference by this Court vide order dated 22.05.2018, hence the petitioners are also entitled for the confirmation of their bail on the rule of consistency. In this context, he has relied upon the cases of Waqar Ahmed and others v. Chairman NAB (PLD 2015 Sindh 295).

25. Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Sangi Advocate for petitioner Ahsan Ali Siyal mainly contended that the petitioner is innocent and has falsely been implicated in this reference; that the petitioner being Accountant acted on the direction of administrator/Town Officer and after completing all the formalities by the Town Officer for payment of the work done at site the only role of the Accountant is to verify the rates and after verification he has to pay the amount to the contractor; that after pre-audit which is not the job of petitioner the petitioner is preparing the cheques; that the petitioner has never misused his authority and signed all the cheques when works have been done at the site. He lastly prayed for confirmation of bail to the petitioner.

26. Mr. A.R. Faruq Pirzada, Advocate for petitioner Sohail Ahmed Soomro contended that during his incumbency he has never misused his authority and if any payment was made by the petitioner which was done in accordance with law; that all the cheques were issued by the petitioner after verifying the work done at the site and he has not caused any loss to the government exchequer; that the petitioner is regularly attending the Court and has never misused his concession of bail. Lastly he prayed for confirmation of the interim pre-arrest bail granted to the petitioner.

27. Mr. Nisar Ahmed Bhanbhro advocate for the petitioner Shahabuddin Mangi, contended that during his incumbency he has never misused his authority and if any payment was made him which was done in accordance with law; that all the cheques were issued by the petitioner after verifying the work done at the site and he has not caused any loss to the government exchequer; that the petitioner is regularly attending the Court and has never misused his concession of bail. Lastly he prayed for confirmation of the interim pre-arrest bail granted to the petitioner.

28. Mr. Irfan Ahmed Panhwar advocate for petitioner Zakir Hussain Mangi, contended that during his incumbency he has never misused his authority and if any payment was made him which was done in accordance with law; that all the cheques were issued by the petitioner after verifying the work done at the site and he has not caused any loss to the government exchequer; that the petitioner is regularly attending the Court and has never misused his concession of bail. Lastly he prayed for confirmation of the interim pre-arrest bail granted to the petitioner.

29. Mr. Qurban Ali Malano advocate for petitioner Duleep Kumar contended that the petitioner is innocent and has been falsely implicated in this reference; that the petitioner during his incumbency from 03.01.2013 to 09.9.2013 acted in accordance with law; that the petitioner remained as Accounts Officer for only 08 months and he has never misused his authority and completing all codal formalities signed the payment vouchers and made payments through cheques; that after completing the codal formalities viz. voucher and by inviting the NITs the petitioner has performed his duty; that the petitioner has not given undue benefit to any contractor and rather after completing work at site, the petitioner has made payment. He lastly prayed for confirmation of bail of the petitioner as he is regularly attending the Court.

30. Mr. Nisar Ahmed Bhanbhro advocate for petitioner Niaz Hussain Magsi, mainly contended that petitioner is a government contractor and works in the name and style Messrs Niaz Hussain and Co, in town committee TMA Bakrani since long but not a single complaint has been received from any corner to believe that the petitioner is involved in corruption and corrupt practices; that the payment was made to the petitioner after completing the work at the site and thereafter all the codal formalities were completed, then the concerned officer has issued cheques; that petitioner has not misappropriated government funds and has not caused any loss to the government exchequer. He lastly prayed that for confirmation of the interim pre-arrest bail to the petitioner.

31. Mr. Shakeel Ahmed Abro advocate for petitioners Rizwan Ali Shaikh, Zulfiquar Ali Shaikh, Ghulam Ali Jakhar, Ghulam Mustafa Jakhro, Saeed Ali Channo, Khalid Hussain Shaikh, Wazir Ali Soomro, Khadim Hussain Lakhair, Abdul Latif Jakhro and Fahad Khan Abbasi in C.P. No.D-2046/2017 mainly argued that the petitioners are Government contractors and have acted in accordance with law and they have received the payments after completing all the assigned works and after completing all formalities, the Town Committee Officer issued the cheques in accordance with law and there is no complaint from any corner that the petitioners have not completed the work at site and petitioners have neither been involved in corruption nor misappropriated Government funds, hence they are entitled for confirmation of bail.

32. Mr. Ali Nawaz Ghanghro advocate for petitioner Amjad Ali Abro in C.P. No.D-2253/2017 mainly contended that though the petitioner is Government Contractor, but no Contract, work order has been given to him and no amount has been paid to him by the Bakrani Town Committee Larkana, but he has been falsely implicated by the NAB authorities; that if any work has been assigned to the petitioner, the same was done in accordance with law and after completing all the Codal formalities, the payments were made to him, he lastly prayed for confirmation of bail of the petitioner.

33. Mr. Shahid Ali K.Memon learned counsel for the petitioner Tahir Aziz alias Abdul Rub in C.P. No.D-2259/2017 mainly contended that the petitioner is government contractor and he has acted in accordance with law and never indulged in corruption and corrupt practices; that works were assigned to the petitioner by the competent authorities and the petitioner has done and completed the same at site and he has never ever misused the authority; that after granting of interim pre arrest bail, the petitioner has not misused the concession of the same and he is entitled for confirmation of interim pre arrest bail. He further contends that the petitioner has voluntarily returned the amount and has deposited an amount of Rs.14,65,627.00 in the United Bank Limited Kutchary Road Khairpur in favour of Chairman NAB and such approval has been obtained from the Director General NAB Sukkur which has been placed before the learned trial Court for further orders, hence he prays that the interim pre-arrest bail granted to the petitioner may be confirmed on same terms and conditions.

34. Mr. Muhammad Zubair Malik, learned Special Prosecutor NAB, Sukkur vehemently opposed for confirmation of the pre-arrest bail as well as grant of post-arrest bail to the petitioners. It is, inter alia, contended by learned Special Prosecutor NAB that petitioners namely Masood Bhutto, Ghous Bakhsh, Hidayatullah Memon, Sohail Ahmed Soomro, Shahabuddin Mangi, Javed Ali Baloch, Abdul Qadir Shaikh, Khalid Hussain Kharose, Zakir Hussain Mangi, Dileep Kumar, all Ex-Administrators, Town Officers of TMA Bakrani during their incumbency periods commencing from 01.1.2013 to 30.6.2016 with collusion and connivance of co-accused Ihsan Ali Siyal, Accountant have jointly made the payments to the contractors namely Niaz Hussain Magsi, Rizwan Ali Shaikh, Waheed Ali Soomro, Zulfiqar Ali Shaikh, Muhammad Yousuf Jokhio, Ghulam Ali Jakhro, Ghulam Mustafa, Saeed Ali Channo, Khadim Hussain Shaikh, Wazir Ali Soomro, Muhammad Saleem Lakhair, Khadim Hussain Lakhair, Abdul Latif Jakhro, Amjad Ali Abro, Mansoor Ali Memon, Fahad Khan Abbasi, Mazhar Ali Gopang, Akhtar Ali Abro, Zafar Ali Lakhair, Imam Bux Gopang, Abdul Sattar Shaikh, Abdul Raheem Ghanghro, Khadim Hussain Bhutto, Rustam Ali Soomro and Ghulam Mustafa Solangi respectively, thus have misappropriated the government funds in violation of the rules for payments, as there was no NIT/tenders published, no work orders were issued, no work carried out at the sites and no measurement books were maintained, hence the payments were made to the contractors illegally and unlawfully, by misusing their authorities in violation of the rules by signing payment vouchers, as such they have given financial loss to the government exchequer and acquired gains amounting to Rs.21,25,32,805/-. In this context, he has relied upon the cases of Muhammad Khan v. NAB through Chairman and others (2017 SCMR 1152); Asif Ayoub v. The State (2010 SCMR 1735); Hamood-ur-Rehman v. Chairman NAB Islamabad (2016 PCr.LJ 934) and Kamran Saeed v. Chairman NAB and others (2017 PCr.LJ 340). He further submits that petitioner Tahir Aziz alias Abdul Rub Mangi in C.P. No.D-2259/2017 has voluntarily returned his individual liability amounting to Rs.14,65,627.00 and such report has been approved by the Director General NAB Sukkur and application under section 25(B) NAO 1999 has been filed by the petitioner, whereas, the report has also been placed before the learned trial Court, hence he conceded for confirmation of the interim pre-arrest bail to the petitioner Tahir Aziz alias Abdul Rub Mangi.

35. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record. It is established from the documentary evidence that the officers/officials of Town Committee/TMA Bakrani/Assistant Commissioner Larkana/Ex-Administrator Taluka Bakrani during their incumbency period from 01.01.2013 to 30.06.2013 in connivance and in collusion with Accountant/Accounts Officer and contractors were involved in misusing authority and misappropriating Government funds by violating all codal formalities for payments, rules i.e. West Pakistan Municipal Audit Rules-1964, Sindh Local Council Accounts Rules-1983 and Sindh Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (SPPRA) Rules-2010 and the payments made by the officers/officials were illegal as there was no NITs/tenders advertisements, no works got executed at the sites, and no measurement books (MBs) were got recorded, therefore, illegal and unlawful payments were made to the contractors by the accused namely Masood Bhutto, Ghous Bux Jatoi, Hidayatullah Memon, Sohail Ahmed Soomro, Shahabuddin Mangi, Javed Ali Baloch, Abdul Qadir Shaikh, Khalid Hussain Kharos, Zakir Hussain Mangi, Dileep Kumar and Ahsan Ali officers/ officials of TMA/Town Committee Bakrani District Larkana by misusing their official capacity, thus prima facie they are involved in misappropriation of Government funds which were lawfully entrusted to them, they failed to exercise their authority and rendered undue benefits/favour to contractors namely Niaz Hussain Magsi, Rizwan Ali Shaikh, Waheed Ali Soomro, Zulfiqar Ali Shaikh, Muhammad Yousif Jokhio (entered into plea bargain), Ghulam Ali Jakhar, Ghulam Mustafa Jakhro, Saeed Ali Channo, Khalid Hussain Shaikh, Wazir Ali Soomro, Muhammad Saleem Lakhair (entered into plea bargain), Khadim Hussain Lakhair, Abdul Latif Jakhro, Amjad Ali Abro, Mansoor Ali Memon (entered into plea bargain), Fahad Khan Abbasi, Mazhar Ali Gopang, Akhtar Ali Abro, Zafar Ali Lakhair, Imam Bux Gopang, Abdul Sattar Shaikh, Abdul Raheem Ghanghro (entered into plea bargain), Khadim Hussain Bhutto (entered into plea bargain), Rustam Ali Soomro, Ghulam Mustafa Solangi, Tahir Aziz alias Abdul Rub Mangi and Zakir Hussain Mangi (entered into plea bargain) to withdraw Government funds for which the accused/contractors were not lawfully entitled and caused loss to the government exchequer and gains acquired amounting to Rs.21,25,32,805/- (Twenty one crore twenty five lac, thirty two thousand eight hundred and five rupees only). The statements under section 161, Cr.P.C. of PWs Ajeet Kumar owner of Ajeet Sanitary Store Larkana, Dr. Muhammad Irfan proprietor of Messrs Japan Sewing Machine, Frere Road Sukkur, Rahol Kumar proprietor of Messrs Asia Sanitary Store Larkana were recorded by the I.O. in which they have stated that they have never participated in quotations issued by TMA Bakrani along with other contractors shown in the quotations by Town Committee Bakrani and all the quotations issued in their names are fake and fictitious. Furthermore, about six accused persons who confessed their guilt and entered into plea bargain returned the embezzled/ misappropriated amount to the NAB authorities. The Bakrani is a very small city surrounded by small village's, whereas, the government had provided funds more than 21 cores to the Ex-TMA officers/Petitioners 1 to 10 for infrastructure and development of Bakrani city and surrounding union councils, but the petitioners 1 to 10 in connivance and in collusion with Accountant/ Accounts Officer and contractors usurped/looted the entire funds and they failed to provide basic facilities viz. pure drinking water, health care, clean atmosphere and other facilities to the local people which are their fundamental rights. The contentions raised by the learned counsel for the petitioners that co-accused have been granted bail by this Court in the similar circumstances, having no force, because the liability fixed against the petitioners is more than Rs. One million, hence the case of the present petitioners is on different footings to that of co-accused to whom the bail was granted vide common order dated 22.05.2018 in C.P. D-2038/ 2017 and others by this Court only on the ground that the liability against them is less than one million. It is well-settled principle of law that at bail stage only tentative assessment is to be made. Therefore, we are of the view that prima facie there is sufficient material available on record to connect petitioners Masood Bhutto, Ghous Bux Jatoi, Hidayatullah Memon, Sohail Ahmed Soomro, Shahabuddin Mangi, Javed Ali Baloch, Abdul Qadir Shaikh, Khalid Hussain Kharos, Dileep Kumar, Ahsan Ali Siyal, Niaz Hussain Magsi, Rizwan Ali Shaikh, Waheed Ali Soomro, Zulfiqar Ali Shaikh, Ghulam Ali Jakhar, Ghulam Mustafa Jakhro, Saeed Ali Channo, Khalid Hussain Shaikh, Wazir Ali Soomro, Khadim Hussain Lakhair, Abdul Latif Jakhro, Amjad Ali Abro, Fahad Khan Abbasi, Mazhar Ali Gopang, Akhtar Ali Abro, Zafar Ali Lakhair, Imam Bux Gopang, Abdul Sattar Shaikh, Rustam Ali Soomro and Ghulam Mustafa Solangi. Learned counsel for the petitioners have failed to make out a case for grant of pre-arrest bail. No mala fide on the part of NAB authorities or investigating officer has been pointed-out. Accordingly, their bail petitions stand dismissed and orders of this Courts granting interim pre-arrest bail to said petitioners are hereby recalled and post arrest-arrest bail of the petitioner Sohail Ahmed Soomro also stands dismissed.

36. Adverting to the case of petitioner Tahir Aziz Mangi, he has voluntarily returned/deposited his individual liability amounting to Rs.14,65,627.00 in the UBL Kutchary Road Khairpur in favour of the Chairman NAB and such report filed before the Director General NAB Sukkur has been approved, which is pending before the learned Accountability Court Sukkur. Such fact has been conceded by learned Special Prosecutor NAB, therefore, the petitioner Tahir Aziz Mangi is entitled for grant of pre-arrest bail. Accordingly the interim pre-arrest bail granted to him earlier is hereby confirmed on same terms and conditions. MH/S-64/Sindh Order accordingly.