Supreme Court of Pakistan On Friday, the NAB has allowed the intra-court appeals against the nullification of the NAB amendments, after which the government amendments in the NAB rules have been restored.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Qazi Faiz Isa A five-member larger bench headed by Justice Aminuddin, Justice Jamal Mandukhel, Justice Athar Manullah and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi had reserved the decision of this case on June 6 this year, which was pronounced today.
The Supreme Court delivered the verdict on the appeals by five to zero, with Justice Athar Minullah and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi writing additional notes.
Justice Athar Manullah restored the amendments on the appeal of the private accused. He said that it was not the privilege of the federal government to file an intra-court appeal, an appeal can only be filed by the aggrieved party.
The 16-page written judgment was written by Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa.
The Supreme Court has said in the judgment that the PTI founder could not prove that the NAB amendments are unconstitutional.
In its decision, the court said that the NAB amendments could not be proved unconstitutional. and that ‘the Supreme Court should uphold the legislation as much as possible.’
The written judgment said that the role of judiciary and legislature is clear in the constitution. The Judiciary and the Legislature should be very careful not to interfere in each other’s jurisdiction.
It was further said that ‘while performing the duties given in the constitution, it is better that the institutions serve the public.’
What was the decision of the NAB amendment case?
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder chairman Imran Khan challenged the NAB amendments introduced by the former coalition government led by then Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in 2022, which was heard by former Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandyal. It was done by a bench of the Supreme Court headed by
In the Supreme Court NAB The judgment of the amendment case was issued by former Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandial on September 15 last year before he resigned from his post, in which the court amended the NAB definition of benami, assets in excess of income and shifting the burden of proof to the prosecution. It was declared null and void.
In the majority decision, the court had declared that the cases of all persons sitting in public positions are restored.
While the court had ordered to restore all the cases that ended when the amount was less than Rs 50 crore and send them to the accountability court. The court had issued an order to NAB to send all the records to the concerned courts within seven days.
The decision was delivered by a three-member bench. Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandial and Justice Ijazul Ahsan gave the majority decision while the third judge, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, disagreed with the majority decision.
When was the decision of NAB amendments challenged in the Supreme Court?
On October 17 last year, the federal government filed an appeal against the decision to nullify the NAB amendments, in which the decision against the NAB amendments was requested to be nullified.
Federation, NAB and chairman PTI were made parties in the appeal.
Earlier on October 15, the petitioner Zubair Ahmed Siddiqui also filed an appeal against the NAB amendment decision under the Practice Procedure Law, in which the decision against the NAB amendments was requested to be annulled.
What amendments did the PDM government make in NAB?
During the PDM government, 27 amendments were made in the NAB Act. Under the NAB Amendment Bill 2022, many matters were removed from the jurisdiction of the NAB and it was also stated that these amendments would be deemed to be effective from the commencement of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999.
Under the NAB Amendment Bill 2022, NAB will not be able to investigate corruption cases of less than Rs 50 crore.
This section contains related reference points (Related Nodes field).
Under the NAB Amendment Bill, the authority of the President regarding the appointment of Accountability Court judges was also withdrawn and given to the federal government, while the tenure of the Prosecutor General NAB could be extended by three years.
Section 16 of the NAB Act was also amended, under which the trial can be tried in the accountability court of the area where the offense is committed.
Section 19E was also amended in the bill, under which NAB’s power to allow supervision with the help of the High Court was withdrawn.
After the passage of the law, NAB could not process federal, provincial or local tax matters and regulatory bodies operating in the country were also thrown out of NAB’s purview.
Under the NAB amendment bill, no other government agency will be able to take help for the investigation against the accused, while the accused will be informed of the charges against him so that he can defend himself in the court.
The NAB Ordinance was also amended that NAB can remand any accused for a maximum period of 14 days, but later this period was extended to 30 days by further amending it.
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2024-09-06 06:31:18
Landmark Verdict: Supreme Court of Pakistan Restores NAB Amendments
In a significant decision, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has allowed intra-court appeals against the nullification of the NAB amendments, effectively restoring the government amendments in the NAB rules. The verdict, delivered by a five-member larger bench, has far-reaching implications for the country’s anti-corruption efforts.
Background of the Case
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder, Imran Khan, had challenged the NAB amendments introduced by the former coalition government led by then Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in 2022. The PTI had argued that the amendments were unconstitutional and sought to prevent the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from investigating corruption cases involving public officials.
Previous Judgment
In a majority decision, the Supreme Court had earlier declared the NAB amendments null and void, citing that they were unconstitutional. The court had also ordered the restoration of all cases that had ended when the amount was less than Rs 50 crore and directed NAB to send all records to the concerned courts within seven days.
Appeal Against the Judgment
The federal government, NAB, and PTI chairman Imran Khan had filed appeals against the judgment, requesting the Supreme Court to nullify the decision against the NAB amendments. The appeals were heard by a five-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice Aminuddin, Justice Jamal Mandukhel, Justice Athar Manullah, and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi.
Verdict
The Supreme Court delivered the verdict on the appeals by a unanimous decision of 5-0, with Justice Athar Minullah and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi writing additional notes. The court restored the amendments, ruling that the PTI founder could not prove that the NAB amendments were unconstitutional.
**Key Points
