128 officers convicted by NAB punished, SHC told

KARACHI: As many as 128 government officers, who entered into voluntary return plea with National Accountability Bureau were awarded major and minor penalties including demotion, compulsory retirement, removal and dismissal from service after finalizing of the proceedings, Chief Secretary told Sindh High Court on Thursday.

Filing compliance report on petition seeking removal of over 500 government officials and employees who despite entering into plea bargain with NAB through voluntary return of ill-gotten money were allowed to work in different government departments, the Sindh Chief Secretary submitted that disciplinary proceedings against 128 government officers were finalized out of 435 officers.

The SHC had directed chief secretary to ensure that all such government officials/employees, who entered into voluntary return with national accountability bureau and are still working on government jobs be suspended with immediate effect and disciplinary proceedings be initiated against them.

The chief secretary submitted that 55 government officers were awarded major penalties after completing of disciplinary proceedings out of whom 12 were demoted, 10 were compulsory retired, 4 removed from service and 29 were dismissed from service. He submitted that 73 government employees were awarded minor penalties by stopping their annual increments while show cause notices against 7 government officers were withdrawn either due to exoneration or their retirement.

The provincial top bureaucrat submitted that cases of 238 government officials were under process whereas 82 cases of government employees were not initiated due to their retirement, expiry or other reasons.

He submitted that all the administrative departments have been directed to finalize the disciplinary proceedings within 30 days to 45 days.

The CS submitted that 217 out of 238 government officers against whom disciplinary proceedings are under process belong to education department therefore en bloc placement of services of such large number of teachers under suspension may cause administrative problems for the concerned department and may be in conflict with the another order of SHC in respect of the teachers. The CS also sought two months time for completion of disciplinary proceedings against them.

The case was fixed before the SHC’s division bench comprising Justice Mohammad Shafi Siddiqui and Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon but it was adjourned for constitution of new bench as one of the judge’s directed to not place the petition before him.

Muttahida Quami Movement’s deputy convenor Kanwar Naveed Jamil had submitted in the petition that alarming situation has been created in the Sindh bureaucracy after allowing the civil servants to enter into plea bargain and voluntary return of the ill-gotten gains to the NAB authorities.

The petitioner’s counsel Salman Mujahid had submitted that Sindh government had allowed promotions and postings to over 500 NAB convicted government servants which is a gross violation of the law.