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Friday March 29, 2024

Sacked IHC’s additional registrar challenges action against him

ISLAMABAD: An ex-additional registrar Islamabad High Court (IHC) Ijaz Ahmad, through his counsel Asma Jehangir has challenged his forced retirement on the basis of an inquiry that alleged that the petitioner was guilty of leaking IHC internal audit report to media where audit objections were made on appointments in IHC

By our correspondents
October 04, 2015
ISLAMABAD: An ex-additional registrar Islamabad High Court (IHC) Ijaz Ahmad, through his counsel Asma Jehangir has challenged his forced retirement on the basis of an inquiry that alleged that the petitioner was guilty of leaking IHC internal audit report to media where audit objections were made on appointments in IHC without advertisement and test interview criteria. The petitioner has made IHC as respondent. Petition is yet to be fixed for hearing.
Ijaz Ahmad was sent on compulsory retirement through a notification dated August 20, 2015 that says, “The authorised officer (of inquiry) recommended to the authority for imposition of major penalty”.
Under allegations of leaking internal audit report to media, four IHC officials were put under suspension in February 2013 and they faced a departmental inquiry in this regard.
The other three officials included, deputy registrar Mohammad Sarfraz Sharif, assistant accounts officer Mohammad Ashiq and assistant Mohammad Waseem Khan were however demoted one step down.
The petitioner has adopted that he proceeded with the internal audit of IHC in compliance with the orders of the chief justice. The audit report was prepared by controller general of accounts (CGOA) that indicated flaws in the appointment process in the IHC. It is mentioned here that in January last a petition was filed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan challenging 74 appointments in the IHC based on the said internal audit report. That petition is still pending adjudication.
The report had mentioned that the procedure of advertising the vacancies and filling them through open competition, after conducting tests/interviews, was totally ignored in the appointments.
The petitioner former additional registrar Ijaz Ahmed was also faced with the charges that he had opposed the appointments of certain officers/officials made by the Hon’ble former Chief Justice in this honorable Court..... “thus you challenged the authority of the Hon’ble Chief Justice and are guilty of insubordination”.
The petitioner through his petition has contended before the IHC that he placed his opinion that appointments (in the IHC) should be made after publication of the posts in the newspapers having wider circulation.
The petitioner further contended that the auditors had presented the report of the internal audit to the then registrar for onward submission to the Chief Justice with a proposal for its circulation among all branches concerned. And the authorities never probed who leaked the internal audit report as at a time when it appeared in the media, the petitioner was not holding the relevant office.
The petitioner has also raised objections to the appointment of inquiry officers Attiq-ur-Rehman and Meeran Jan Kakar. The petition says that Attiq-ur-Rehman was the IHC registrar at the time when the appointments have been made in the IHC and the internal audit was conducted when Kakar was the IHC registrar adding that both the officers should not be judge in their own cause.
The petitioner contended that the entire proceedings against him were made on the basis of presumptions.
He prayed to the court to quash the inquiry proceedings and restore him to his job.