Govt decides to file review plea against SC verdict on NAB law amendments
Pakistan
A Supreme Court bench on Sept 15 declared amendments to NAB Ordinance void
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The federal government has decided to file a review petition against the apex court’s decision to annul amendments to the NAB Ordinance.
It is learnt that the government would file the review petition by October 13.
It may be recalled that a Supreme Court bench headed by former chief justice Umar Ata Bandial on September 15 accepted the plea of PTI chairman and declared amendments to NAB Ordinance void.
THE PAST
Justice Bandial and Justice Ijazul Ahsan had declared the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman’s plea to be maintainable while Justice Mansoor Ali Shah disagreed with the majority verdict.
The 2-1 verdict restored graft cases against public office holders that were closed down following the amendments and the court directed NAB to send the record to the relevant courts within seven days.
Last year in May, the National Assembly had passed bills to abolish election reforms made by the PTI when it was in power, giving overseas Pakistanis the right to vote, and amended the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws.
The PTI chief in June, 2022, challenging changes in various provisions of the NAB Ordinance which were made allegedly to benefit influential accused persons and legitimise corruption of those whose case were pending before the Accountability Courts.
THE AMENDMENTS
As per the NAB (Second Amendment) Bill 2021, the bureau’s deputy chairman, to be appointed by the federal government, would become the acting chairman of NAB following the completion of the tenure of the chairman.
The bill also reduced the four-year term of the NAB chairman and the bureau’s prosecutor general to three years.
The bill states that regulatory bodies functioning in the country have also been placed out of NAB’s domain.
The bill also limited NAB’s jurisdiction to cases involving over Rs500 million.
