Nandipur case: Verdict on Babar Awan’s acquittal plea deferred again

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court, on Monday, has once again deferred the pronouncement of a verdict on an acquittal plea filed by former law minister Babar Awan in the Nandipur Power Project reference.

Accountability Court Judge Arshad Malik was due to announce the verdict during today’s hearing, after it was previously deferred on April 30, however, the announcement of judgement was delayed due to the judge’s absence.

The court will now hand out its verdict on May 22.

The court had reserved its ruling in the case on April 26

The Nandipur reference

The National Accountability Bureau in the reference, contended that the Nandipur Power Project project had faced a delay of two years, one month and 15 days, resulting in a loss of Rs 27.3 billion to the national exchequer.

The power plant project, located in Gujranwala district of Punjab, could not be completed and operated on time because the accused, Babar Awan failed to issue legal opinions.

The Nandipur Power Project was approved by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) in December 2007 at a cost of 329 million dollars.