PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench has denied bail to former secretary of Workers Welfare Board, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Tariq Awan, in cases of corrupt practices and misuse of authority.

The suspect arrested by the National Accountability Bureau had filed two petitions for bail in the cases against him.

Justice Irshad Qaisar and Justice Qalandar Ali Khan heard the petitions. Earlier, the bail plea of Tariq Awan was first dismissed by the high court and then by the Supreme Court. In the two petitions, the suspect had sought bail on medical considerations.

The petitioner`s lawyer said his client had different health problems and that his treatment was notpossible inside the prison.

`The petitioner is above 65. His medical reports have also proved that he`s not medically fit,` he said, adding that his client had been imprisoned since arrest in April 2014 though no noteworthy progress had taken place in the case.

The lawyer said the trial of his client was in initial stage and that there was no possibility of its conclusion at the earliest.

NAB deputy prosecutor general Mohammad Jamil and special prosecutor Umar Farooq said the petitioner didn`t suffer from any serious ailment and therefore, he shouldn`t be freed on bail on medical considerations.

They claimed the petitioner had recruited a number of people through illegal process and awarded scholarships to un-entitled people and thus, causing a huge loss to the exchequer and denying jobs to hundreds of deserving candidates.

The NAB prosecutors said the petitioner had also recruited his close family members in the board.

They said several other ofHcialsof the board had been arrested with whose connivance the petitioner had carried out the illegal acts.

The prosecutors claimed the arrested people were involved in illegal award of contracts for the procurement of equipment including generators, vacuum cleaners, first aid box, fans and fibre glass rooms through fake and unregistered firms at exorbitant rates to the tune of over Rs3.5 billion.

PETITION ADJOURNED: A high court bench adjourned hearing into a petition challenging the condition of two years practice at the bar for candidates for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Service Commission examinations to recruit 120 civil judges.

Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Syed Afsar Shah fixed Nov 23 for the next hearing asking the relevant office to fix the case before any other bench as Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth is member of the high court`s administrative committee.

The petition is filed by Waheedullah Khan through lawyer Ameenur Rehman, who contended that introducing the condition oftwo years practice for the candidates, all law graduates, was illegal.

When the bench took up for hearing the case Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth observed that he was member of the administrative committee and it was not appropriate for him to hear the case.

The lawyer said Friday was the last date for submission of applications and that in case the hearing was delayed, the petitioner would be deprived of the chance to sit the examination.

However, the bench observed that on the court order, the petitioner could be allowed to sit the said examination.

The petitioner has claimed that in a case, the Supreme Court had allowed the provincial PSC to conduct examinations for recruitment of civil judges but had ruled that the high court would consider whether to include the condition of experience in it or not.

He, however, said without the approval of the government, the relevant rules were changed and included the controversial condition in it.