3rd LHC bench dissolved after judge declines to hear Maryam’s passport plea
Two judges recuse themselves in one day from hearing PML-N VP’s passport retrieval petition
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Two two-judge benches of the Lahore High Court (LHC) which were formed to hear the petition of PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz regarding her passport have been dissolved in one day, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Firstly, the two-judge bench headed by Justice Ali Baqir Najfi and comprising of Justice Farooq Haider was dissolved early Tuesday when Justice Haider recused himself from hearing the case.
The case then was referred to the LHC chief justice for constitution of a new bench which he did.
The new two-member bench was led also by Justice Ali Baqir Najfi and the other judge on the bench was Justice Asjad Javed Gharal was due to take up the case later Tuesday but Justice Gharal also declined to hear the petition.
The benches were supposed to hear Maryam Nawaz’s petition regarding retrieval of her passport so that she could go to Saudi Arabia for the performance of Umrah.
Ahsan Bhoon Advocate appeared before the court on behalf on Maryam Nawaz.
But the benches could not hear the case when Justice Haider and Justice Gharal recused themselves from the hearing.
Earlier, on April 21, a two-judge bench headed by Justice Syed Abbas Ali Rizvi of the Lahore High Court could not be able to hear Maryam’s case as the bench was dissolved when Justice Anwaarul Haq Pannu recused himself from hearing the case.
Maryam Nawaz has approached the Lahore High Court for permission to go for Umrah.
Maryam Nawaz in her petition stated that she had surrendered her passport to the LHC, adding: “I want to go to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah but cannot do so because my passport is surrendered at the LHC.”
She pleaded with the court to allow her once to go for Umrah and issue orders for temporarily returning her passport.
It merits mentioning here that the LHC while granting bail to Maryam Nawaz in Chaudhry Sugar Mills case had ordered her to surrender her passport.
In November 2019, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had granted bail to Maryam Nawaz who was arrested earlier on August 8 in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM) case.
A two-member bench of the high court, comprising Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem, had announced the verdict.
The PML-N leader had been ordered to furnish two surety bonds, each worth Rs10 million, and deposit an additional Rs70 million and surrender her passport to secure her release.
Reporter Malik Ashraf