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In an example of dispensing justice in an Islamic way, a Pakistani court confirmed the interim bail of six top government officials after they swore on the Quran that they were innocent in a corruption case involving millions of rupees.
During a hearing of the matter last week, a division bench of the Lahore high court headed by Chief Justice Ijaz Chaudhry took strict notice of the constant extension in the interim bail of the accused over the past year and announced it would give a decision on confirming their bail at the next hearing.
On Monday, when proceedings started in the high court, the chief justice asked the accused to take oath on the Quran in order to decide the matter without further delay.
The accused took an oath on the Quran and claimed they had not committed any corruption or embezzled even a single rupee.
At this, the chief justice confirmed their interim bail and directed the accused to deposit Rs 500,000 each as surety. The Anti-Corruption Establishment had registered a case against the six officials in June last year on the direction of the Punjab government.
Parks and Horticulture Authority officers Tahir Ijaz, Akhtar Mehmood, Zulfiqar Sulehria, Muhammad Boota, Saeed Ahmad and Azhar Sulehria were found involved in a case of alleged corruption involving Rs 52.5 million.
An anti-corruption court rejected the bail applications of the accused but they secured interim bail from the high court last year.