The Sindh High Court has granted bail to former provincial information minister Sharjeel Memon in Rs 5.76 billion corruption case against a surety bond of Rs 5 million.
A National Accountability Bureau (NAB) team had taken the PPP leader and 11 others into custody on Oct 23, 2017 after the Sindh High Court had rejected his bail plea in the case pertaining to the award of advertisements at ‘exorbitant rates’ through the abuse of power. He was then indicted in February 2018.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the court asked if it had been proven that Memon had received kickbacks from the deal with the advertising company.
“It has not been proven that Memon has received kickbacks from the deal,” the investigation officer conceded but added that the former minister had used his position of power in an unjust manner.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the two-member bench — headed by Justice KK Agha and comprising Justice Omar Sial — accepted Memon’s plea and asked the PPP leader to submit a bond worth Rs5 million to procure bail.
He was released from Karachi Central Jail later in the evening.
Previously, the court had rejected two different applications seeking bail for Memon over the span of his year-and-a-half long confinement.
The PPP leader is also facing a separate inquiry regarding illegal adjustment and consolidation of hundreds of acres of land in favour of a private housing project.
