Expressing dissatisfaction with the compliance report submitted by the establishment division secretary regarding action taken against all high-ranking police officials involved in illegal appointments and having patchy service records, the Supreme Court has questioned why officers were exonerated from proceedings despite sufficient evidence against them.
A three-member SC bench headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed made the observation on Friday while hearing the matter of police officers’ alleged involvement in illegal appointments and patchy service records.
The court had earlier directed the chief secretary, establishment division and the Sindh police chief to file a fresh report stating the nature of patchy records of police officers and personnel as well as the penalties imposed on them by the competent authority during their departmental proceedings.
The court observed that inquiry proceedings were kept delayed for years and denovo inquiries were initiated against police officers after completion of initial inquiries. The court observed that big fish were either exonerated or got retired despite sufficient evidence having been collected against them.
It is now part of our culture that when proceedings are initiated against the influential, an entire gang gets activated and an entire system is operated to fail the proceedings, the bench observed.
It questioned the federal law officer as to why disciplinary proceedings were not completed against officers despite that fact that they were facing trial in accountability courts.
Additional Attorney General Salman Talibuddin submitted that two high-ranking officers retired during the disciplinary proceedings, while six were exonerated by the inquiry officer. He said police officers were engaged in election duties and sought two months time to complete all pending inquiries.
The court observed that the country was heading towards election and it will not allow the derailing of the process. The additional attorney general was directed to take action against inquiry officers who conducted faulty probes against police officers in patchy service record case.
The secretary for the establishment division submitted a report mentioning that all inquiries and proceedings that were being conducted in terms of orders of the court were going to be conducted strictly in accordance with the law and no officer would be spared if found implicated in the allegations levelled against them. He submitted that although the department was being pressurised from different quarters during the inquiry proceedings but such pressure was resisted and will be resisted in future as well.
The court also ordered that the record of inquiries against eight police officers who were either retired or exonerated by the inquiry officers from the charges of illegal appointments in the police department be submitted so that the court could examine if the probes were conducted fairly and in accordance with the law. The Sindh advocate general said that the provincial government had already submitted the inquiry report on up to 17 grade officers conducted by the home department.
The home secretary submitted that he will examine each case of police officer investigated by the provincial government and if found any lacking in the report the same shall be completed by conducting further inquiry as provided under the law.
The court directed the establishment division secretary and home secretary to submit all reports including record of inquiries before the court within ten weeks. They were also directed to assist the court in examining the record of inquiries.
NHA performance
The Supreme Court took notice of National Highway Authority’s (NHA) performance over the lack of maintenance of the Jamshoro-Sehwan road along National Highway that caused hundreds of casualties in traffic accidents.
The NHA had appealed against the Sindh High Court’s earlier judgment which ordered upgradation of the road and removal of the toll tax. The SC three-member bench, headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed, remarked that the authority’s greed will consume the entire country.
The residents of Jamshoro submitted that because of the faulty road structure of the National Highway, over 400 people have lost their lives in accidents in the last couple of years while hundreds more have been injured.
An advocate general from Sindh requested for an extension to seek response from the police department concerned. The court observed that necessary arrangements were required to be taken on an urgent basis as the citizens’ lives were at stake.
The court directed the chairman of NHA to appear before the bench in the first week of August and inform them of the safety measures being taken along the National Highway. It also directed the NHA to submit details regarding the deployment of police personnel to ensure safety of vehicles.