Another judge recuses himself from hearing petitions of Chaudhry brothers

• This the second time a judge has recused himself from hearing the cases. Justice Farooq Haider, a member of previous bench, excused from hearing the petitions last week.
• They submitted that the NAB chairman had on February 14, 2019 ordered bifurcation and reinvestigation of matter.
• They contended that the investigations and subsequent proceedings were illegal.

LAHORE: A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench on Tuesday referred petitions, filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid leaders Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Speaker Punjab Assembly, against National Accountability Bureau (NAB), to LHC chief Justice for fixing before another bench after a member of the bench recused himself from hearing them.

The matter came up for hearing before a two-judge bench of Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and Justice Asjad Javaid Ghural. However, Justice Ghural recused himself from hearing the matter.

This the second time a judge has recused himself from hearing the cases. Justice Farooq Haider, a member of previous bench, excused from hearing the petitions last week.

Chaudhry brothers had challenged NAB investigations into charges of misuse of authority, willful default and assets beyond means against them.

They submitted that the bureau launched investigations against them on above said charges in 2000, and it failed to find an iota of evidence against them during the past 19 years. They submitted that it was learnt that the investigation officer and regional board recommended closure of the investigation in 2017and 2018 but it was not closed due to mala fide intentions.

They submitted that the NAB chairman had on February 14, 2019 ordered bifurcation and reinvestigation of matter. They contended that the investigations and subsequent proceedings were illegal. They pleaded with the court for setting aside the investigations being illegal.

On the other side, the NAB rejected the stance of the Chaudhry brothers taken in their petitions regarding the pending inquiries. It said, “Chairman of the NAB has not taken any final decision on these cases or issued any order that could be challenged before the court.”