LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday allowed an application filed by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz seeking the return of Rs70m deposited as surety for bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.

Earlier, a deputy prosecutor of NAB submitted an affidavit to the LHC full bench about the withdrawal of its plea before the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) challenging directives for the closure of the Chaudhry Sugar Mills investigation against Maryam.

At this, Chief Justice Aalia Neelum, who headed the bench, accepted Maryam’s application with instructions to the registrar’s office to return the surety amount.

Justice Muhammad Jawad Zafar and Justice Abher Gul Khan were the other members of the bench.

The chief minister, through her counsel Javed Arshad, had filed the application after an accountability court in March allowed a NAB request for the closure of the investigation against her.

NAB had filed an application following a Feb 4 directive from the LHC to place a termination report before the accountability court for the closure of the investigation as required under the law.

The accountability court had allowed the bureau’s application, declaring that Maryam may withdraw her surety bond of Rs70m furnished against the post-arrest bail granted to her in the case.

The NAB case pertains to alleged money laundering and income beyond means via “dubious” business transactions of the Chaudhry Sugar Mills, of which Maryam was a major shareholder.

A NAB team had arrested Maryam in connection with the case on Aug 8, 2019 when she was present at the Kot Lakhpat jail on her weekly visit to her incarcerated father, Nawaz Sharif.

On Nov 4, 2019, the LHC released Maryam in the case on bail, subject to surrendering her passport to the court. She was also ordered to deposit a surety amount of Rs70m with the judicial registrar of the court.

In October 2022, the LHC directed officials to return the passport to Maryam after NAB said it did not require the travel document anymore.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2026