Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial has made important remarks regarding the amendment of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) law.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial presided over the hearing on NAB’s appeal against the order to inform PML-N leader Mian Javed Latif before his arrest.
NAB prosecutor Rizwan Satti said that the decision to inform the accused before arrest is against the law.
The Chief Justice remarked that Javed Latif’s case was at the inquiry stage, and at that time arrest could not be made.
The NAB prosecutor said that after the amendment of July 3, 2023, there can also be an arrest during the inquiry, to which Justice Umar Ata Bandial said that the NAB amendments made in July are suspicious.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan asked how a person called to answer the question can be put in jail. The NAB Act was draconian till 2001; amendments to the NAB Law to reduce the remand period and grant bail are good, he added.
Justice Athar Minallah remarked that NAB law can be interpreted only in the context of judicial decisions and constitution.
The apex court dismissed NAB’s appeal against the order to inform the accused before the arrest and remarked that the Islamabad High Court’s order was before the July 3 amendment.
