Supreme Court rules it no longer has jurisdiction to hear NAB appeals

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has ruled that it no longer has jurisdiction to hear appeals or bail applications in cases arising under the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), directing that all pending matters be transferred to the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) under the Constitution (Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Act, 2025.

A three-member bench headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, and comprising Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, issued the written judgment on Friday.

The court held that all pending petitions for leave to appeal, criminal appeals, review applications and bail pleas in NAB cases now fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal Constitutional Court and must be transferred to the newly established forum for adjudication.

The judgment said the Constitution (Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Act, 2025 established the Federal Constitutional Court through the insertion of Article 175F, conferring appellate jurisdiction on the FCC over specified categories of cases, including those arising under the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999.

According to the ruling, all petitions for leave to appeal, appeals, review applications and other proceedings that were filed or pending before the Supreme Court before the commencement of the Twenty-Seventh Amendment automatically stand transferred to the Federal Constitutional Court by operation of law.

According to the judgement, the amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance have “unambiguously divested and disrobed” the Supreme Court of its appellate jurisdiction in NAB cases, leaving it without the authority to pass interim orders, including bail.

“It would be a strange assumption of powers to hold that this Court has jurisdiction only for the purpose of granting bail, while the main appeal against conviction or acquittal lies before the Federal Constitutional Court,” the judgment stated.

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The bench concluded that the Supreme Court has no jurisdiction to take cognizance of NAB cases in terms of Article 175F of the Constitution, read with Sections 32 and 32A of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999.

As a consequence, all pending criminal petitions for leave to appeal and criminal appeals arising under the National Accountability Ordinance stand transferred to the Federal Constitutional Court, where they will be heard and decided.