LHC bench declines to hear Chaudhry brothers' petition against NAB

LAHORE: A Lahore High Court (LHC) bench on Tuesday refused to proceed with petitions filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leaders Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, ARY News reported.

The bench comprising Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and Asjad Javaid Ghural declined to hear the case and referred it to the LHC chief justice for fixing it before another bench for hearing.

The division bench was formed the other day after Justice Farooq Haider, a member of the bench that initially took up the case, excused himself from hearing the petitions, after which the matter was referred to the top LHC judge.

The Chaudhry brothers moved the petitions questioning a NAB inquiries into charges of misuse of powers, willful default and asset beyond means against them. They alleged in their petition that the bureau is an institution of political engineering.

They stated that the bureau had initiated investigations against them on these charges back in 2000 but failed to find any evidence against them.

The Chaudhry brothers contended that the NAB chairman had in February this year ordered a fresh investigation into the matter, arguing that the investigations are illegal and unlawful. They requested the court to declare void the investigations launched against them.