KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday rejected the bail pleas of Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani and eleven others in NAB’s assets beyond means reference filed against them.

However, six other suspects including Durrani’s wife Nahid, son Shahbaz and daughters Sonia, Sara and Shahhan were granted bail. Bail plea of another suspect Aslam Pervaiz was also allowed.

A special bench comprising Justice Nadeem Akhtar and Justice Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro had two weeks ago reserved its order after extensively hearing counsel for all the eighteen suspects.

All the suspects on December 13, 2019 were granted bail by the SHC. Against this order NAB had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court (SC) had in March this year overturned the SHC order, cancelling Durrani and other suspects bail and remanded the matter for deciding it afresh.

A three-judge SC bench, headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, had directed the SHC to reconsider its order within a period of two months. The SC had also instructed the high court to decide the case in light of facts and evidence.

During fresh hearing of the bail applications, Durrani’s counsel accused NAB of acted out of malice. He added that his client had inherited the assets and assets of his wife, son and daughters were not benami as the same were inherited from him.

While granting bail to his wife, son and daughter, Justice Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro, who authored 19-page order, held that the NAB had sufficient and substantial material on the basis of which a reference had been instituted.

The bench also did not agree with the contentions of Durrani’s counsel that the reference was the result of mala fide intentions.