Islamabad, Oct 22 (UNI) The Pakistan Supreme Court has ordered all 24 accountability courts or NAB courts to expedite proceedings in corruption references, without granting any adjournments to parties, the Dawn reported on Thursday.
A three-judge SC bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed, on Wednesday also directed the accountability courts to get the statements of all witnesses recorded at the earliest.
The bench also expected that the prosecution would not seek any adjournment and that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Prosecutor General would ensure all witnesses were timely produced before the accountability courts.
The SC further said that NAB chairman Javed Iqbal would ensure compliance of the court order in letter and spirit and disciplinary action against those found guilty of not obeying the court directions.
It also expressed the hope that the federal Cabinet would take a timely decision with regards to the implementation of the July 8 directions, to establish 120 accountability courts across the country, to clear the huge backlog.
A source told the Dawn that initially, a few more accountability courts would be set up and their number would be increased to 120 at a later stage.
The SC had taken up a suo motu case regarding delay in trials before the accountability courts, in the light of Section 16 of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), which asks for deciding corruption matters within 30 days.
The suo motu proceeding was initiated, when Justice Mushir Alam had requested the Chief Justice of Pakistan on January 8 to constitute a special bench and initiate suo motu proceedings over the delay in prosecuting the accused before the trial courts.
According to a law ministry report, all the 24 accountability courts are fully functional and no vacancy currently exists in any accountability court.
UNI XC ACL RJ 1918