ISLAMABAD – In its detailed verdict on the appointment of Justice (r) Syed Deedar Hussain Shah as the NAB chairman, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said the matter had been handled by the Law Ministry in a manner depicting shallow and perfunctory understanding of the constitution and relevant laws.
The judgement authored by Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa said that during the process, the former judge of the apex court had suffered for no fault of his own, as it was because of his two appointments to that office, both botched and messed up by the Law Ministry’s wrong legal advice to the relevant quarters and he now stood disqualified to be appointed to that office again on account of the provision regarding “non-extendable period” contained in section 6(b)(i) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999.
The court directed that a regular appointment to the office of the NAB prosecutor general be made without further delay. “We entertain no manner of doubt that anybody interested in making an honest and good appointment to the office of NAB chairman would not feel shy of consulting the chief justice of Pakistan in that connection,” the verdict ruled.
The court also directed for a fresh appointment to the vacant office of the NAB chairman be made without any delay. It concluded that the appointment of Justice (r) Syed Deedar Hussain Shah as the NAB chairman by the president on February 9, 2011 was ultra vires and against the spirit of section 6(b)(i) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, and through such illegal appointment, the fundamental rights of the people of the country, including their right to life, right to liberty, due process of law, fair trial and access to justice were adversely affected.
