Lawyer moves SHC against NAB chairman

Rasheed A Akhund asks court to declare the appointment unlawful and void for being in violation of Article 48.

KARACHI: Rasheed A Akhund, a senior lawyer in Karachi moved the Sindh High Court Wednesday against the newly appointed chairman of NAB (National Accountability Bureau), Justice (retd) Syed Deedar Hussain Shah, and asked the court to declare the appointment unlawful and void for being in violation of Article 48 of the Constitution of Pakistan (COP) 1973.

Citing the president, secretary of law and parliamentary affairs, minister for law and parliamentary affairs and NAB chairman as respondents, the petitioner maintains that Shah’s appointment was patently illegal and unlawful. The petitioner also submitted that Shah was liable to a writ of quo warranto under Article 199 (i) (b) (ii) of the Constitution and to show under what law he claims to hold this office of the NAB chairman as it is a public office.

Relying on a statement by the prime minister, the petitioner said that according to a statement by the president, the appointing authority had not sought the prime minister’s advice before appointing Justice (retd) Deedar Shah as the chairman of NAB.

Hitting hard at the federal law minister, the petitioner alleged that the “law minister is giving misleading and illegal advice to the president even to the extent of flouting the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan”.

Besides seeking a declaration that the appointment was illegal, the petitioner also sought a permanent injunction restraining Shah from exercising any powers as the head of NAB.

The petition is likely to be heard with other petitions on the same issue in the current week.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 14^th, 2010.