—– Move comes amid reports of federal government’s decision to file review through Law Ministry
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: A review petition was filed on Friday challenging the Supreme Court’s (SC) decision to declare amendments made to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999 null and void.
The petitioner, Abdul Jabbar, has prayed the court – through his counsel, senior lawyer and PPP Senator Farooq H Naek – to set aside its September 15, 2023, verdict.
He has argued that he was not a party to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairperson Imran Khan’s constitutional petition challenging amendments to the NAB law, but stands aggrieved by the verdict – refering particularly to the minimum pecuniary threshold of NAB which Parliament set at Rs500 million but under the SC judgment has been set at Rs100m.
The petitioner has raised other points of law including the apex court’s jurisdiction and the matter of fundamental rights. The petitioner argues that as the NAB law was enacted by Parliament, it would be incumbent on Parliament alone as to how and whether to amend the law.
The move comes a day after it emerged that the federal government has decided to file a similar appeal and challenge the SC verdict. Sources privy to the development told The Express Tribune that the appeal would be filed in the coming days through the law ministry and the petitioner would seek time to submit additional documents before the court.
In a highly anticipated verdict on September 15, the SC in a majority decision allowed former premier Imran’s petition challenging amendments made to the NAO 1999 by the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) coalition government, led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and ordered the restoration of corruption cases against public office holders that were withdrawn following the tweaks.
The apex court, with a majority of 2 to 1 ordered the reopening of all corruption cases worth less than Rs500 million that were previously closed against political leaders from various parties and public office holders. The court declared the amendments null and void.
Furthermore, the top court directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to return all case records to the relevant courts within seven days.
The verdict also highlighted that the NAB amendments in question impacted the rights of the public as outlined in the Constitution.
The order, announced by former chief justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial in his final session before retirement, stated, “By a majority of 2:1 (Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah dissenting), Constitution Petition No.21 of 2022 is allowed.”
The court has also invalidated the judgments issued by the accountability courts based on the amended laws.
