Supreme Court has no power in NAB cases, says government

Changed law moves appeals and bail requests to FCC.

By Mahnoor | 15-07-2026

ISLAMABAD: The federal government told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that, after the new National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) Amendment Act of 2026 was passed, appeals against convictions and bail matters in NAB cases are now under the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), not the top court.

A three-judge bench, led by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and including Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, was looking into whether the Supreme Court or the FCC should handle appeals and bail requests in NAB cases, based on the recent changes to the accountability law.

In the court case, the federal government said that under the changed NAB law, appeals against high court decisions in NAB cases, including main appeals and bail issues, should go to the FCC. NAB agreed with the government.

The Attorney General of Pakistan, Mansoor Usman, argued that the Supreme Court no longer has power over NAB cases, and appeals against convictions and bail matters will now be handled by the FCC.

“It is not allowed for one part of a case to be heard by the Supreme Court and another part by the Federal Shariat Court,” he argued.

The attorney general said that while giving bail is still a decision made by judges based on looking at the case papers, the place where appeals in NAB cases are heard has now changed.

He said the right to appeal in NAB cases is a basic right and was not taken away, but only moved to the FCC through the newest changes.

Referring to Article 175F(2) of the Constitution, Usman said that all pending cases in the SC that belong to the Constitutional Court’s power are automatically sent to the FCC.

He said the NAO (Amendment) Act was made law in March 2026, and it clearly stated that its rules would work backwards from the day the original NAB law started.

‘So, all NAB cases have been moved to the FCC automatically by law,’ he argued, adding that the change had also altered where appeals are heard.

Justice Mazhar asked if NAB cases had actually been moved to the FCC. NAB’s lawyer said the cases had not been moved yet. Justice Mazhar then asked if the Supreme Court still had the power to give bail in NAB cases.

The NAB lawyer argued that the changes gave the FCC the power to hear appeals, and it would be wrong for one court to hear bail requests while another court hears appeals.

He said that both bail issues and appeals in NAB cases should be decided by the same court, because often courts look at the core details of a case when deciding on bail requests.

Representing one of the people who filed the case, lawyer Ibadur Rehman Lodhi argued that the NAB changes never said that bail requests would be heard by the FCC.

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