LAHORE: A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench on Wednesday granted bail to Engineer Qamarul Islam, Waseem Ajmal and four others in Saaf Pani Company case.
The bench comprising Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan and Justice Mirza Viqas Rauf heard the post-arrest bail petitions of Zahoor Ahmad Dogar, Adnan Aftab, Masoodul Hassan and Muhammad Younus besides the said main accused.
Earlier, petitioners’ counsel Hafiz Ali Ashfaq arguing before the bench pleaded to grant bail to the accused as all charges levelled against them were baseless.
He submitted that Saaf Pani Company was a public listed company and its affairs were run through a board which comprised six secretaries and six members provincial assembly besides others.
He submitted that all contracts and proposals of water treatment plants were presented to the board which gave its approval. The accused did not exercise any authority in this regard, he added.
Denying the charges that the contracts of water treatment plants were given at a higher price, he submitted that the contract was awarded to the lowest bidder whereas a further 20 per cent discount in the price was also obtained from him. He contended that the accused saved public money and did not cause any loss to the exchequer.
He further submitted that all post contract changes were made with the approval of the board and the step was taken in accordance with the rules.
However, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor opposed the bail request and submitted that the accused awarded contracts on higher prices besides making post-bid changes. He contended that additional plants were purchased without the approval of the board.
The bench after hearing detailed arguments of the parties granted bail to the accused and directed them to furnish surety bonds for the purpose.
