Islamabad: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has challenged a decision of the Lahore High Court in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case by filing an appeal before the Federal Constitutional Court, The Express Tribune reported.
The Lahore High Court had earlier directed NAB to submit a reference before an accountability court within one week so the case could be formally closed. The order came after a petition filed by Maryam Nawaz, Chief Minister of Punjab, Pakistan, seeking the return of Rs70 million deposited as surety.
The high court also instructed the accountability court in Lahore, Pakistan to decide the reference within one month.
In its appeal, filed through the additional prosecutor general, NAB requested the Federal Constitutional Court to set aside the high court’s ruling. The bureau argued that when a case is withdrawn during the inquiry stage, the accountability court has no judicial authority over it.
NAB also maintained that if the law does not require judicial approval for withdrawing a case, such a requirement cannot be imposed through a court decision. The bureau further claimed that the high court issued its ruling without sending notices to the Office of the Attorney General of Pakistan.
According to NAB, once the bureau’s chairman approved the withdrawal of the case, the high court had no authority to interpret the law differently. It also argued that the court effectively took suo motu notice of the matter, which it said was beyond its jurisdiction.
The bureau has asked the Federal Constitutional Court to declare the Lahore High Court’s February 4, 2026 decision void.
The Chaudhry Sugar Mills inquiry was launched on November 14, 2018. During the investigation, Maryam Nawaz was arrested on August 8, 2019 and placed on a 48-day physical remand.
She later approached the Lahore High Court for bail, which was granted on October 31, 2019. The court asked her to submit two surety bonds of Rs10 million each, deposit Rs70 million and surrender her passport.
NAB later challenged the bail order in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, but the petition was dismissed on August 22, 2023 after the bureau withdrew the application.
Following amendments to the NAB law, the investigation officer concluded that the case did not establish corruption or corrupt practices. Based on this finding, NAB’s Executive Board decided on April 3, 2024 to withdraw the proceedings under Section 31B(1).
After the case was withdrawn, Maryam Nawaz filed an application in the Lahore High Court seeking the return of the Rs70 million deposited as surety. The high court then ruled that the case could only be formally closed with the approval of the accountability court and directed the Lahore court to issue a decision within one month.
