On the heels of the displeasure expressed by the apex court regarding the appointment of Justice (retd) Deedar Hussain Shah as chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), a petition has also been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the appointment.
Thursday’s petition in the apex court follows two earlier petitions on the same matter in the Lahore and Sindh high courts. Filed by Advocate Shahid Orakzai, the petition argues that the appointment is illegal as the chief justice and the opposition leader were not consulted.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had said on Wednesday that Justice Shah’s appointment violates the Supreme Court’s verdict on the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO). He also said that consultation with the chief justice is vital. He also ordered the attorney-general to explain the appointment of the chairman at the next hearing.
Earlier, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had also announced that they will challenge Shah’s appointment in the SC.
Justice Shah was named by President Asif Ali Zardari on October 9 as chief of NAB. He is widely held to be a loyalist of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and has twice been elected to the Sindh Assembly on a PPP ticket.
Meanwhile, a division bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC) comprising Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Shaid Anwar Bajwa put on Thursday all the respondents, including the President, on notice while hearing a petition challenging the appointment of Justice (retd) Deedar Hussain Shah as the chairman of the NAB.
The respondents include the President, by name, the minister and secretary of law and parliamentary affairs and NAB chairman.
Besides seeking a declaration that the appointment of Deedar is illegal, the petitioner also sought an injunction restraining the new chairman from exercising any powers as head of NAB.
He pleaded with the court to declare the said appointment unlawful and void being in violation of Article 48 of the Constitution of Pakistan.
Over the Lahore High Court, Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry will hear the constitutional petition on the matter today (Friday).
The petition was moved by Barrister Javed Iqbal Jaffree and came up for hearing before Justice Nasir Saeed Sheikh on October 11. However, the petitioner was not inclined to appear before the judge. He then moved an application that it should be fixed before a permanent judge, a plea that was accepted.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 15th, 2010.
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