LAHORE - The Lahore High Court yesterday barred the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from taking strict action against two businessmen to recover a ‘defaulted’ bank loan.
Ahmad Humayon and Ahsan Humayon both the businessmen had filed the petition and submitted that they obtained loan from a bank. They said but the NAB had started investigation against them on the charges of loan default while the State Bank of Pakistan had also started inquiry.
The petitioners told the court that the case regarding the loan was already lying pending in the LHC. They requested the judge to bar the NAB from taking strict action against them and stop inquiry till the decision of the petition pending in the court.
After hearing the arguments of the petitioners, a two-judge bench headed by Justice Mahmood Maqbool Bajwa barred the NAB from taking coercive measures against the petitioners and referred the petition to a full bench to decide a point of willful default.
About 100 petitions were lying pending on the point of willful default while the full bench is yet to be formed.
Reply sought from govt in FIF plea
The Lahore High Court yesterday sought reply from the Punjab home secretary and the Lahore district coordination officer by Oct 21 in a contempt petition filed by Falah-i-Insaaniat Foundation.
Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation had filed the petition through Advocate A K Dogar and submitted that the officials concerned did not comply with the order of the LHC which is contempt of court. The petitioner’s counsel said that the foundation worked for the welfare of the society and had not been involved in any kind of terrorism.
The law officer had also confessed before the court that the foundation is not a terrorist organization but despite the clear orders of the court the organization had not been given the normal status. Beside it, the foundation is also being stopped from carrying out its business, the counsel said. He requested the court to initiate contempt proceedings against the officials concerned for not complying with the court’s orders.
After hearing the arguments of the petitioner’s counsel, Justice Mahmood Maqbool Bajwa of the LHC issued notices to Punjab Home Secretary and District Coordination Officer and putt of further hearing until Oct 21.
In another case, Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh of the LHC declined hearing of a petition filed by Aitchison College Principal Agha Ghazanfar and sent it to the Chief Justice to fix it before any other bench.
Agha Ghazanfar, in his petition, had submitted that the board of governors of the school did not adhere to the settlement according to which he was allowed to stay at school and use of the perks and privileges available to him from the school.
He stated that he was being teased while his powers had also not been restored. He had requested the court to hold the proceedings of the case in an open court.
Advocate Azhar Siddique, the counsel of board of governors, said that the court held in-camera proceedings previously on the request of the petitioner and now he wanted open court proceedings.
However, the judge declined hearing of the case for personal reasons and sent it to the Chief Justice to fix it before any other bench.