SC to hear govt’s NAB amendment appeal

After more than six months, the Supreme Court has fixed the federal government's intra-court appeal (ICA) against the majority judgement declaring the amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 2002 as illegal. A five-judge larger bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa will hear the ICA on May 14. Other members of the larger bench include Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi. The same bench had heard the matter last on October 31, 2023. The larger bench in its Oct 31 order asked the accountability courts to proceed with trials but refrained them from announcing the final judgment. Former prime minister Imran Khan had challenged the amendments to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) law. The apex court by a majority of 2-1 had declared the amendments to NAO 2000 as unconstitutional. It had 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. Furthermore, the apex court had directed the NAB to return all case records to the relevant courts within seven days. Read Ruling alliance mulls discarding NAB Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah had dissented the majority judgement. Later, the federal government through Makhdoom Ali Khan challenged the majority order. The larger bench in its short order had ordered its office to send the copies of government appeals to Imran Khan. "The incarcerated respondent be served through the concerned Jail Superintendent and be provided copies of the appeals, and if he wants to be represented the Jail Superintendent should do the needful," the last order said. There are reports that Imran Khan himself is interested to plead his case before the bench. The order had noted that detailed reasons in Oct 11, 2023 were not given as yet.   "Therefore, it would be appropriate to fix these appeals after the release of the detailed reasons in the said cases. However, to save time let notices be issued to the respondents. Since the interpretation of the Constitution, Federal laws and as trials which the Amendments had referred to courts in the provinces and to the ordinary courts in the Islamabad Capital Territory, which has been reversed by the impugned judgment, notices to the Attorney-General for Pakistan and the Advocate-Generals of all the provinces and the Islamabad Capital Territory be also issued under Order XXVII-A of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. Copy of the order passed to accompany the notices," the order said.

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