3-member bench formed to decide Shahbaz’s bail

LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan on Monday constituted a three-member bench to decide a petition of Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif for a post-arrest bail after a division bench gave a split decision on it.

Justice Ali Baqar Najafi would head the three-member full bench with Justice Alia Neelum and Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi.

The bench is set to resume its hearing on April 21. Previously, the judges of the division bench issued a split decision on the post-arrest bail petition of Shahbaz in a money-laundering reference, sending the matter to the chief justice for the nomination of a referee judge. Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar, who headed the bench, allowed the petition while its other member Justice Asjad Javed Ghural dismissed the same on merit.

In his dissenting order, Justice Ghural accused the senior judge of issuing the bail granting short order ‘unilaterally’. The judge remarked that the assets acquired by the petitioner in the name of his family through forged TTs, which were found disproportionate to the known sources of his income by the NAB, brought a bad name to the country.

Justice Dogar, the head of the bench, in his order stated a “unanimous order regarding the grant of bail” but when the short order for the petitioner’s release was placed before Justice Ghural for signature, he disclosed that he intended to give a dissenting view.

“Therefore we are rendering separate orders and after completion of the same, the matter shall be placed before the chief justice for nomination of a referee judge, said the head of the division bench. The chief justice, however, constituted a three-judge full bench to decide the petition afresh.