Islamabad (Staff Report/Agencies): The Supreme Court on Thursday accepted the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) plea for hearing against Lahore High Court (LHC) decision to grant bail to Shehbaz Sharif and Fawad Hassan Fawad in the Ashiana Housing Scheme case.
The apex court bench led by Justice Azmat Saeed heard the appeal.
The anti-graft body’s counsel Naeem Bukhari informed the court that LHC’s decision was in stark contrast with principles laid out for bail by the apex court. Citing SC rules that “a bail verdict must be temporary: he said that the LHC announced its decision against nine out of 13 merits.
"There were no circumstances necessitating the grant of bail to Shahbaz Sharif," he argued.
The court adjourned the hearing and issued notices to Shehbaz and Fawad to appear on May 2.
On February 14, the LHC granted bail to Shehbaz who was arrested by the country’s top graft-buster in October due to his alleged misuse of power as Punjab former chief minister in awarding the contract of a housing scheme.
The top accountability watchdog had later filed two references against the PML-N president, respectively related to the Ashiana Housing Scheme and the Ramzan Sugar Mills. However, the LHC divisional bench, comprising Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan and Justice Mirza Viqas Rauf, granted bail to Shehbaz in both the cases.
The court also granted bail to former PM’s principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad, a co-accused in the Ashiana case, but denied him bail in another NAB reference against his assets beyond means.
