ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has issued a major ruling and declared that the Supreme Court does not have the authority to hear NAB cases.
Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar of the Supreme Court, while delivering a brief ruling, declared that the Federal Constitutional Court will hear the central appeals and bail applications in NAB cases. Under Sections 32 and 32A of the NAB Act, the Supreme Court does not have the authority to hear them.
The ruling stated that all cases of NAB under Article 175A and F will be considered as transferred to the Federal Constitutional Court.
It should be noted that PTI founder Imran Khan had also approached the Supreme Court against the High Court’s bail case and the Registrar Supreme Court had returned the application with objections.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision, the Federal Constitutional Court will now hear the bail case of the PTI founder.
It may be recalled that the question of jurisdiction arose during a pending NAB case in the Supreme Court. The NAB Act was amended on March 5, 2026, according to which the jurisdiction to hear appeals under Section 32A of the NAB Act was entrusted to the Federal Constitutional Court.
A 3-member bench headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar heard the case. The bench also included Justice Musarat Hilali and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan. In the case, the petitioner’s lawyer, Ibadur Rehman Lodhi, argued in favor of running the bail case in the Supreme Court. The petitioner’s lawyer referred to the granting of bail in the case in the Supreme Court on March 18, 2026, after NAB amended the arguments.
Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan argued in favor of running the NAB central appeals and bail cases in the Federal Constitutional Court. The Attorney General’s position was that one part of the case cannot be run in the Supreme Court and the other part in the Federal Constitutional Court.
In the hearing of the case, the NAB lawyer also supported the federal government’s position, after which the 3-member bench of the Supreme Court reserved the decision on July 16.
It may be recalled that the wife of the founder of PTI had also approached the Supreme Court after the rejection of bail in the 190 million pound case and the Registrar of the Supreme Court had objected to the appeal against the cancellation of bail. The objection was to approach the Federal Constitutional Court for bail.
30-page decision issued
The Supreme Court has issued a 30-page decision after its hearing regarding the jurisdiction of NAB cases, in which it has been said that all criminal appeals/pending applications of NAB should be transferred to the Constitutional Court.
During the hearing, the lawyer also referred to the Supreme Court’s bail decision.
The Supreme Court said in the decision that the concerned NAB can only tell the reasons for the decision without raising the point of jurisdiction. Despite the omission of raising objections, the law itself determines the jurisdiction of hearing. The Supreme Court can hear appeals against the decisions of the Federal Sharia Court. The jurisdiction of NAB cases lies with the Federal Constitutional Court.
According to the decision of the Supreme Court, it is not possible for the Supreme Court/Central Appeal Constitutional Court to hear the bail. If the forums are kept contradictory, it will be against the law. A legal forum cannot be created based on the preference or consent of a petitioner so that the petitioner can do forum shopping at his own will.