The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday summoned National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman Lieutenant General (retired) Nazir Ahmed Butt in a contempt of court case on September 15.

According to a copy of the petition dated June 16, available with Dawn.com, a writ petition filed in December last year sought the conclusion of an inquiry against former Punjab finance minister Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht. However, the anti-graft body neither responded to nor disposed of the plea, in violation of the law.

“This honourable court directed … respondent number one (Lt [retired] Gen Butt) to decide the pending application expeditiously within one month and strictly in accordance with law under intimation to DR (Judicial) of this honourable court vide order dated May 6,” the petition read.

“Neither the petitioner was summoned by the respondent nor [was] provided any opportunity of hearing to the petitioner. Besides that, more than one month has lapsed, and the] petitioner has become [a] rolling stone at the hands of the respondents.”

The petition requested the court to summon the NAB chairman and read a charge under Article 204 (power to punish contempt of court) of the Constitution, in addition to other charges framed against him for failing to comply with the May 6 order.

The hearing

A two-member LHC bench, headed by Chief Justice Aalia Neelum, heard the contempt of court petition, where the petitioner argued that the anti-graft body did not follow the court order.

“I applied for NAB to probe [former federal minister for industries] Khusro Bakhtiar and Hashim Jawan Bakht’s unauthorised assets, but they did not decide on or respond to it, despite a court order,” he argued. “A court order against the chairman of the NAB should be made for contempt of court.”

When the Chief Justice asked who from NAB was present at the previous hearing, a government lawyer stated nobody was present. The court then ordered that Lt Gen (retired) Butt appear in court on September 15.

More to follow.