Appeal to Supreme Court Against NAB Amendment Ordinance

Islamabad: After the Lahore High Court, National Accountability Ordinance (Second Amendment) 2019 was challenged in the Supreme Court on the basis of benefiting government officials and businessmen.
 According to the report, journalist Farrukh Nawaz Bhatti filed a petition through Advocate Dr GM Chaudhry, requesting that the new ordinance be suspended until the request is decided.

It is to be remembered that on December 26, the government imposed an ordinance to amend the National Accountability Ordinance 1999 and provided relief to traders and bureaucrats.

The applicant was of the view that the new law provides a way to violate the pretext of good faith, which would allow government officials and civil servants to allegedly run the affairs of the state.

The petitioner further stated that in his defence, it may be said that only a few clauses of this ordinance are outside the scope of the Constitution and some are in accordance with it.

However, it is difficult to separate these clauses from the ordinance, as they would disrupt the entire legal structure of the ordinance, making it impossible to revise it under Article 8 of the Constitution to separate its judicial scrutiny and good section from the bad.

The applicant further stated that to eliminate justice, equality, rule of law, rules and procedures of law, exploitation and discrimination, it is imperative that the ordinance is declared false from the beginning and beyond the scope of the Constitution.

The petition held that the new ordinance was a violation of fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution to abolish exploitation under Section 3 and rule of law under Section 4.

He alleged that the purpose of the new ordinance was to divide the common people and society on the basis of 'economic class' against discrimination, democratic principles of non-exploitation and the sacred trust of the power and executive authority of the people.

The request states that when a strict regulatory system is being implemented to check the exploitation and illegal activities of traders all over the world, this new ordinance is acting in reverse.

According to the applicant, the federal government is failing to fulfil its constitutional duty under Article 212 of the Constitution and is protecting the rulers and their allies.

He added that the federal government should support taxpayers, and loyal citizens, to promote law enforcement but instead stands with tax evaders and corrupt elements.

The applicant was of the view that the ordinance proved that the federal government failed to establish a fair and free economic system without any discrimination based on the rule of law without violating the constitution.