While hearing the contempt of court case against Tauqir Sadiq, former chairman of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), the Supreme Court said on Monday that the accused will have to appear before the apex court if he needs any relief.
A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Jawwad S Khwaja and Justice Tariq Parvez, was hearing the case.
The chief justice inquired that despite Sadiq’s name on the Exit Control List (ECL), how he had managed to travel to New York. The CJP asked Sadiq’s lawyer how he was presenting credentials on behalf of an absconder. “If Sadiq left for New York 20 days ago, how did he manage to sign on the six days old credentials,” the CJP asked. The apex court was informed that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had been taken into the loop to investigate Sadiq’s exit from the country.
Earlier on August 7, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had submitted a report to the apex court in which Tauqir Sadiq was accused of causing a loss of Rs 83 billion to the national exchequer. But the bench had rejected the report because of the bureau’s failure to arrest the big fish who was roaming freely. The court had ordered NAB Chairman Admiral (r) Fasih Bokhari to submit a concise report with his signature, suggesting efforts to recover the Rs 83 billion embezzled money, and follow-up actions against the people involved.
On November 25 last year, the court had declared the appointment of Tauqir Sadiq as OGRA chairman illegal, and ordered NAB to investigate corruption cases against him and submit its findings within 45 days.