SC considers restarting NAB law challenge

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa has suggested that fresh proceedings may be considered in the challenge against changes made to the NAB (National Accountability Bureau) law.

According to Dawn.com, this comes after earlier proceedings, conducted by a three-member bench, were found to not meet the requirements of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023.

The matter was raised as a five-member bench addressed intra-court appeals (ICA) against the September 15 judgment, which reinstated corruption cases against public representatives by striking down certain sections of amendments made to the accountability law by the PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement) government.

Read More: SC temporarily halts verdicts in accountability cases

Although the Supreme Court (SC) declined to halt ongoing corruption cases in accountability courts, it did instruct trial courts not to issue final orders until the next hearing of the appeals.

The trial courts had resumed proceedings after the majority verdict on September 15 reinstated corruption cases against public representatives.

The SC dealt with several ICAs, including those from the federal government and private citizen Zuhair Ahmed Siddiqui, who faced a corruption case but was not part of the NAB amendments challenge.

The larger bench also issued notices to the respondent, PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) Chief directing that the notice be delivered to him through the relevant jail superintendent due to his incarceration. Notices were also sent to Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan and advocate generals of the provinces.

Senior counsel Farooq H. Naek represented the private citizen, while Advocate Saad Hashmi represented the federal government in the absence of lawyer Makhdoom Ali Khan.

The ICA appeals were addressed by the five-judge SC bench in line with an October 11 order upholding the SC (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023.

The larger bench postponed further proceedings until detailed reasons for the October 11 judgment by the full court are issued, as these reasons may impact the ongoing ICA hearings.

Advocate Hashmi highlighted that the full court, while upholding the SC (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023, provided a mechanism for the constitution of the bench. Section 4 of the Act suggests that any petition moved under Article 184(3) requiring a constitutional interpretation should be heard by a bench of no fewer than five judges.

The Chief Justice noted that if the counsel pursues the ICA, the challenges to the NAB amendments may be reconsidered for a fresh hearing. The counsel also argued that the act was passed by parliament on April 21, 2023, whereas the NAB amendments judgment was delivered by a three-judge bench on September 15, when it should have been considered by a larger bench.