LAHORE, Dec 8: A division bench of the Lahore High Court reserved on Monday judgment on the petition challenging the powers of the NAB chairperson to order transfer of a case from an ordinary court to an accountability court.

Earlier, Attorney-General Barrister Makhdoom Ali Khan informed Justices Syed Tasadduq Husain Jilani and Bashir A. Mujahid that the NAB chairperson’s powers to order transfer of cases to an accountability court were within the confines of Section 61-A of the NAB law.

He referred to some cases in which the Supreme Court

adjudicated in favour of the NAB.

Regarding superior courts’ jurisdiction under Article 199 of the Constitution, the attorney-general submitted that it was limited and all matters did not fall under the scope of fundamental rights.

The NAB chairperson had ordered the transfer of a case, pending in an ordinary court since 1999, to an accountability court. The case pertained to embezzlement and fraud in the National Bank of Pakistan’s Gujranwala branch involving millions of rupees. A good number of people, including some bank employees, were also accused of misappropriation of deposits.

Some of the accused challenged the powers of the NAB chairperson to transfer a case through a petition.

The Attorney-General submitted that the case had been transferred to a NAB court as the ordinary court delayed a decision for four years. It was now possible that the accused, including Akhtar Ali and Muhammad Iqbal, could be punished and amounts from them recovered through plea bargains.

A petitioner’s counsel submitted that it was the prerogative of courts to adjudge if a case was to be transferred to another court. The NAB chairperson had no such authority.