The bail order mystery
April 20, 2021
Problems with the judiciary took the fore over the weekend when a member of the two-judge bench that ‘granted’ Shehbaz Sharif bail said he never approved of the judgment. The story started midweek when Lahore High Court Justice Sarfraz Dogar issued a short order “unanimously” granting bail to the PML-N president. But a few days later, we learned that the other judge on the NAB appellate bench, Justice Asjad Javed Ghural, refused to sign the order and questioned the unanimity of the order, saying that his opinion was ignored.
Under the circumstances as described by Justice Ghural, the case should have been considered a split decision with no short order issued. The case has now been referred to a referee judge chosen by the LHC chief justice. The as-yet-unnamed referee judge will go through detailed judgments written by both justices and chose one, which will be the ‘winner’.
Three-member bench formed to decide Shahbaz s bail thenews.com.pk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thenews.com.pk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
New LHC bench to hear Shehbaz s bail plea tribune.com.pk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tribune.com.pk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Islamabad: The release of former Chief Minister of Punjab and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Shahbaz Sharif, on bail from custody of Pakistan’s anti-graft agency National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in money-laundering reference was delayed. The reason was one of the two judges of the Lahore High Court (LHC) bench differed with his fellow judge and refused to sign the short order.
The matter is now sent to the Chief Justice of the LHC for the nomination of a referee judge.
According to details, Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar, who also headed the bench, had allowed the petition on April 13 after reserving the order briefly.