Man accused of Rs 3 billion fraud gets bail for Rs100
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has granted bail to Shahid Hussain Khawaja, a suspect in a Rs 3.2 billion sales tax fraud case, on a bond of just Rs 100.
Geo’s Owais Yousafzai reports that during the hearing, Islamabad's top court declared criminal proceedings of the Tax Department against co-accused Shahid Hussain as an abuse of power.
Justice Babar Sattar ordered that a copy of the court’s decision be sent to the Chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue.
The court’s verdict states that the bank’s branch manager was arrested for assisting in opening an account of a power company in the branch.
However, the state did not present any evidence to prove the petitioner’s involvement in tax fraud.
Additionally, the court argued that the Tax Department did not determine the tax due on the taxpayer, as per the law.
The department also arrested the petitioner in violation of the Lahore High Court (LHC) decision in the case.
It also initiated criminal proceedings despite being aware of the LHC decision.
Justice Sattar emphasised that the tax department exceeded its powers by first initiating criminal proceedings, violating the constitutional rights of dignity and equality of the petitioner. Meanwhile, the authorities and tax officials violated the established law in an attempt to collect more tax.
The IHC pointed out that, “It is a matter of shame that the magistrate who granted the remand and the court that rejected the bail did not take into account the provisions of the Sales Tax Act.”
The court also reprimanded the subordinate court for acknowledging the misleading actions of the tax department instead of protecting fundamental constitutional rights.
In its judgment, the court clarified that the question of the legality of the criminal proceedings is not for it to decide.
However, it hoped that the trial court will take into account the legality of the action.
The petitioner's bail is granted in lieu of bonds of Rs 100 only. IHC directed Chairman FBR to distribute copies of its decision and those of LHC among tax officers.
The legal powers assigned to public officials should be exercised in accordance with the law, the court warned, as it concluded that “in case of a violation, the FBR and tax officers will face action for the misuse of powers.”