Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar took notice on Friday of the shifting of former Sindh information minister Sharjeel Memon from a jail to a hospital.
Memon, presently on judicial remand, was arrested in the Rs5.76 billion corruption case in Karachi in November last year along with 11 others but was shifted to a hospital owing to his 'ill health'.
Taking notice of the issue, the chief justice has sought a response from the Sindh jails inspector general and will hear the case at its Karachi Registry on Saturday (tomorrow).
Earlier, the chief justice had taken notice of the shifting from jail to hospital of disqualified senator Nehal Hashmi, sentenced for contempt of court, and Shahrukh Jatoi, an accused in the Shahzeb Khan murder case.
Hearing Memon's bail application on December 15, Supreme Court Justice Asif Saeed Khosa has wondered why the health of everyone arrested by NAB deteriorates, observing that the law in this regard is being exploited by the powerful.
On Thursday (yesterday), an accountability court indicted Memon and at least 12 others in the corruption reference.
The accused, including Memon, pleaded not guilty to the corruption charges in court.
The case
The suspects are accused of corruption worth Rs5.76 billion in the award of advertisements of the Sindh government’s awareness campaigns in the electronic media.
"The accused persons jointly and severally in connivance with each other have been alleged for awarding the contracts to favour certain advertising agencies and to their own favour, in violation of relevant laws and rules and against exorbitant rates," said a press release issued by NAB.
Memon, who returned to Pakistan in March last year after ending his near two-year-long self-imposed exile, was arrested on his arrival by NAB but later obtained bail.
The other accused in the case include bureaucrats, officials of the information department and members of private advertising agencies.
Memon claims the charges against him are politically motivated.
