ISLAMABAD : The Supreme Court will hear the appeal of deposed Nawaz Sharif on March 19 against the Islamabad High Court (IHC) February 25 verdict, wherein his application for suspension of sentence on medical grounds in Al-Azizia corruption case was dismissed.
The appeal will be heard by a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa. The other members of the bench include Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Yahya Afridi.
Advocate Khwaja Haris, counsel for Nawaz Sharif, had moved an application for early hearing stating therein, “since the rejection of aforesaid application the medical condition of the petitioner has worsened and, as such, the instant Application is being filed with a prayer that in view of the urgency involved in this case the titled CPLA may be ordered to be fixed in the next week.”
Nawaz Sharif has been convicted by the Accountability Court which awarded him the sentence of seven years rigorous imprisonment along with fine of Rs1.5 Billion and $25 million. Furthermore, all assets, properties, rights, receivables and interests of and in Hill Metal Establishment stood forfeited to the Federal Government.
On March 1, Nawaz Sharif moved appeal against IHC verdict contending that the high court totally misconstrued the meaning and connotations of the term ‘exceptional circumstances’ and ‘hardship cases’ as applicable to cases involving prayer for suspension of sentence on medical grounds and thereby rendered a judgment which is manifestly in derogation of law.