Employment contract: High Court asks federal govt to check its law

The LHC has asked the federal government under which law Rana Zahid Mahmood had been functioning as the DG, NAB.

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has asked the federal government under which law Rana Zahid Mahmood had been functioning as the director general of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Punjab after his contract expired on April 21.

A division bench of the LHC headed by Justice Sheikh Ahmad Farooq told the counsel for both the federal government and NAB that if Mahmood’s contract had expired on April 21, under the law he could not work as the DG. The bench gave both counsel a last chance to file their replies. The counsel including Deputy Attorney General Ashraf Khan and NAB legal consultant Mian Hanif Tahir requested three weeks’ time to file the reply. The bench, however, directed them to file their reply by May 23, the next date of hearing.

Petitioner’s counsel submitted that Mahmood was sitting in the DG’s office and functioning as the DG. He said it was illegal for him to hold the office as his contract had expired on April 21. He said all decision taken by him after April 21 would be illegal.

Petitioner Shah Faisal Qureshi, through his counsel Muhammad Azhar Siddique, filed an application in his main petition, pending in the court, which challenges the appointment of Mahmood as NAB DG.

The petitioner said Mahmood was employed on a one year contract on April 21, 2010. The contract, he said, had expired on April 21, 2011. Therefore, Mahmood should be restrained from performing DG’s duties or passing any orders or holding meetings.

He said by acting as DG after expiry of the contact, Mahmood had violated the service rules of the NAB law.

In his main petition, Qureshi has submitted that the appointment of Mahmood was illegal and unlawful as it was made in violation of rules and regulations and was therefore liable to be declared null and void. He said the appointment was also in violation of a judgment of the Supreme Court and the Constitution.

The petitioner said that the respondent was removed as a judge from LHC following a judgment of the apex court on a petition of the Sindh High Court Bar Association.

He also alleged that Mahmood was a close relative of Rana Qaiser Nazir, an accused in the Canal Motors case, being investigated by the NAB. He accused Mahmood of exercising his influence in the matter and removing the investigating officer Rana Waqas who had been investigating the case on merit and had found Nazir and others guilty.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 18^th, 2011.