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ISLAMABAD:
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ordered the petition challenging the appointment of District and Sessions Judge Nasir Javed Rana to be heard in the second week of November.
Judge Nasir Javed Rana, who presided over an accountability court in Islamabad earlier this year, convicted former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the £190m corruption case.
Supreme Court Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar on Friday took up a miscellaneous application filed by petitioner Usama Riaz seeking an early hearing of the main case against the appointment of Justice Nasir Javed Rana.
The Supreme Court asked the petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Riaz Hanif Rahi, what the matter was and whether it related to a 2004 order.
Advocate Rahi replied that Nasir Javed Rana had been declared unfit for judicial service as per Supreme Court’s order dated 19 October 2004. Therefore, his appointment as a judge was illegal.
The lawyer stated that the case was related to the case of the late Habib-ul-Wahab-ul-Khairi and had he been alive he would certainly have pursued this decision; hence this petition was filed.
While the court ordered the matter for hearing in the second week of November in view of CJ Dogar’s unwellness, it adjourned the matter.
The petitioner maintains that Nasir Javed Rana should be debarred from performing his duties and the notification of his appointment should be declared void.
It further states that if the petition is decided after his retirement, all benefits and privileges earned after December 14, 2022 shall be withdrawn and he should not be considered entitled to any pension or other benefits.
