Regular use of 'voluntary return' by NAB chief triggers corruption SC.

ISLAMABAD -- The Supreme Court of Pakistan Wednesday disposed of a suo motu notice on voluntary return under Section 25(a) in the National AcAcountability Bureau (NAB) cases.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Ayesha Malik conAducted hearing of the cancellation of bails of Muhammad Safdar and Muhammad Ejaz and the suo motu notice, which the former chief jusAtice Anwar Zahir Jamali had taken in 2016 to examine the vires of secAtion 25(a) of National AccountabiliAty Ordinance (NAO), 1999.

Justice Jamali had taken suo motu on the basis of trial by a two-memAber bench in civil appeal no 82-K of 2015 had passed an order that the vires of Section 25(a) of NAO, 1999, authorising the NAB chairAman to accept the offer by a perAson of voluntary return of money, illegally earned by him, needed to be examined at the touchstone of the Constitution. According to the NAB report, which it had submitAted in September 2016, before the apex court, 1,584 civil servants enAtered into voluntary return and deAposited Rs2022 million. Out of that 165 servants were from the federal and 1,419 were the employees of all the provincial governments. During the proceeding, additional attorAney general informed that Section 25(a) is an offence in the NationAal Accountability (Second AmendAment) Bill, 2022. He said whatevAer the sentence is for plea bargain would also apply to voluntary reAturn, adding that after the volunAtary return the accused would be banned to hold government posiAtion for 10 years.

NAB prosecutor requested...