The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned proceedings of the National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) scam case until November 14 due to the unavailability of a judge comprising the three-member bench hearing the case.
A two-member bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan held that Justice Ghulam Rabbani, who was a member of a three-judge bench, had retired and the case would be heard on November 14 by a three-member bench.
The chief justice noted that since Justice Ghulam Rabbani had retired, a three-member bench, which had asked him (Justice Ghulam Rabbani) to probe the matter of anti-apex court advertisements in electronic and print media and allegations of FIA’s Additional Director General Zafar Ahmad Qureshi against PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, could decide whether to allow him (Justice Rabbani) to continue probing both the matters despite retirement or appoint some other judge for the purpose.
He said today (Friday), the available bench consisted of two judges, thus on November 14, the three-member bench would be constituted to hear the NICL scam case.
When the court took up the case, PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Syed were present in the courtroom.
Talking to reporters after the adjournment, Wasim Sajjad, counsel for Moonis Elahi, an accused in the NICL scam, said the application filed by Zafar Qureshi with the apex court claiming that his life was in danger as he was receiving threats and if he died of unnatural death then Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, former chief minister Punjab, Moonis Elahi and Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain would be responsible, was baseless and a bundle of lies.
He said Qureshi had leveled baseless allegations for earning cheap publicity and to create prejudice in the court against his client.
