LAHORE: In a major development, an accountability court on Wednesday returned the Ramzan Sugar Mills reference against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) with an observation that it lacked jurisdiction to proceed further in the case after recent amendments introduced in the law.

Earlier, Advocate Amjad Pervez, the defence counsel, apprised the court of the amendments in the National Accountability Ordinance 1999. He stated that the NAB, after the new amendments, could not take cognizance of any alleged financial corruption involving money less than Rs500 million. He pointed out that the NAB in its reference against his clients made a case of alleged corruption of Rs213 million.

The counsel argued that the accountability court could not hear the reference anymore.

After hearing the defence, Presiding Judge Sajid Ali Awan sent the reference back to the NAB for further action.

In this reference, the court had granted a permanent exemption to PM Shehbaz from personal appearance.

During his last appearance before the court, the prime minister had stated that the NAB accused him of misusing public money as chief minister for the construction of a drain in Chiniot.

He said the drain was constructed on the requisition of a local MPA from the city after formal approval by the provincial cabinet. He said such drains were also constructed in other cities of the province.

Shehbaz also presented a booklet to the judge containing details of development projects executed in the province during his stint as chief minister.

In the mill’s reference, the NAB had arrested Shehbaz on Oct 5, 2018, and the Lahore High Court released him on bail on Feb 14, 2019.

The LHC in its bail granting order observed that prima facie, allegations about gratification, corrupt practice, abuse of authority, kickbacks and commission required further probe during the trial as at this stage cogent evidence was not available.

The NAB alleged that Shehbaz being a chief minister and his son Hamza with the abetment and connivance of each other caused a loss to the national exchequer of Rs213 million by committing the offense of misuse of authority.

It said Shehbaz had issued a directive for the construction of a drain in district Chiniot primarily for the use of Ramzan Sugar Mills owned by his sons- Hamza and Suleman.