By Sohail Khan in The News, Sept 16, 2023
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday restored corruption cases against public office holders after striking down some of the amendments made to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999 by the previous coalition government, declaring it against the rights pertaining to public interest enshrined in the Constitution.
A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsen and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah announced the verdict with a majority 2-1 in the petition filed by former prime minister Imran Khan challenging the impugned amendments in NAB law.
After the verdict, the cases against former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif, Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani, and former president Asif Ali Zardari will again land in the accountability courts along with the LNG reference against former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbassi and the reference filed against former premier Raja Pervaiz Ashraf in rental power matter. The court held that it is accepted that Parliament is empowered to legislate freely within its legislative competence laid down by the Constitution; however, it is also a settled principle of our constitutional dispensation that the three organs of the State i.e. the legislature, the executive and the judiciary perform distinct functions, and that one organ of the State cannot encroach into the jurisdiction of another organ. Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, while dissenting with the majority judgement, held that the judgement has fallen short to recognise the constitutional command that “the State shall exercise its power and authority through the chosen representatives of the people”, and to recognise the principle of trichotomy of powers, which is the foundation of parliamentary democracy.
It is pertinent to mention here that Justice Mansoor, during the course of hearings in the case, had repeatedly stressed for constitution of a full court for the case or waiting for the final decision on the Supreme Court (Practicing and Procedure) law.
Justice Bandial, however, had opposed the suggestion of Justice Mansoor with the observation that as his retirement was near hence he wants early disposal of the petition, challenging the NAB amendments….
Last year in June, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan had filed the petition in the apex court under Article 184(3) of the Constitution praying for striking down the amendments made through the National Accountability (Amendment) Act 2022 and the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Act 2022 for being ultra vires to the Constitution…..
The amendments made to NAB law struck down by the court include the one which limited the NAB jurisdiction to cases involving over Rs500 million and one which allowed the accused to claim the amount of plea bargain deposited after being acquitted.
The judgment authored by Justice Bandial declared the petition of Imran Khan as maintainable on account of violating Articles 9, 14, 24 (protection of property rights) and 25 (equality of citizens) of the Constitution and for affecting the public at large because unlawful diversion of State resources from public development projects to private use leads to poverty, declining quality of life and injustice……..
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1110251-sc-scraps-most-changes-to-nab-law-in-majority-verdict
