SC forms body to probe illegal police appointments

Three-member committee comprising senior police officials

will submit report within three months

Karachi

The Supreme Court formed a three-member inquiry committee on Wednesday to probe “illegal” appointments in the Sindh Reserve Police in Hyderabad and other districts of the province.

The directives came on suo moto proceedings on alleged corruption worth billions of rupees through illegal appointments by the police department’s selection board.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Amir Hani Muslim ordered senior police officers Additional IG AD Khawaja, AIG Sanaullah Abbasi and AIG Naeem Ahmed Sheikh to investigate the board’s appointments in the SRP in Hyderabad and other districts.

The court observed that the inquiry committee would examine the appointment of all wings, units, zones including different units of the SRPs (except those already probed by DIG Munir A Shaikh earlier) in Hyderabad and all other districts on a case-to-case basis and record their findings.

The court observed that in case the appointments were found to be illegal, the policemen would be removed from service after a show-cause notice and proceedings initiated against members of the selection board who recommended them.

The court observed that the Establishment Division secretary would proceed against PSP officers who were the members of the selection board for making the illegal appointments and the chief secretary or any other competent authority would proceed against member who was an officer of the police department.

The committee will complete its report within three months.

The court directed the chief secretary, the home secretary and the IGP to ensure that proposed committee was provided with requisite documents and information sought by it. In case of failure on their part, they will face contempt charges.

The court also ordered that the provincial government would not transfer any member of the committee outside Sindh until the inquiry was completed.

The court earlier heard Advocate General Sindh Abdul Fateh Malik, Additional IG Traffic Khadim Hussain Bhatti, DIG Munir A. Shaikh, DIG Aftab Ahmed Pathan and DIG Naeem Ahmed Shaikh and have perused the material available on record.

The court observed that earlier, DIG Mirpurkhas Munir Ahmed Sheikh mentioned in his report that a number of posts in police were filled without fulfilling legal and codal formalities and the high court had given three months’ time to the IGP for taking action against the delinquent officers in light of inquiry report.

However, the directives were not followed by the IGP and on the contrary DIG SRP Dr Muhammad Amin Yousufzai had sought the approval of the incumbent IGP to recruit 126 petitioners.

The court observed that instead of complying with the orders of the high court, the IGP had allowed further illegalities in the recruitment process by granting the approval.

The court noted that record did not reveal that at any point of time, the IGP had ever taken action on the report.

Besides, in the intervening period, the then DIG SRP Hyderabad Aftab Ahmed Pathan had written many letters to the IGP on the issue of the illegal appointments in the SRP Sukkur and Hyderabad, but the latter did not respond to them.

Subsequently, the court observed, on the intervention of the court, the additional IG traffic Karachi was appointed the inquiry officer to hush up the issue.

The court observed that findings of the inquiry report of the Additional IG Traffic Khadim Hussain Bhatti were self-contradictory and appeared to be an attempt to cover up the illegalities committed by senior police officers.

The court also rejected the inquiry report of Additional IG traffic saying that it was dishonest and had been activated at the behest of the IGP after the intervention of the court. The court also issued a show-cause notice to the IGP to explain as to why did had he failed to respond to the recommendations made in the inquiry report of DIG Munir A. Shaikh and the letters sent by DIG Abdul Khaliq Shaikh and DIG Aftab Ahmed Pathan.

The court directed the IGP to submit an explanation within two weeks as to why had he defied court orders by approving the proposal of appointing 126 petitioners weeks.

The court accepted the inquiry reports of DIG
Munir Sheikh endorsed by DIG Abdul Khaliq Shaikh and directed that all those who were illegally appointed in the SRP Sukkur should be removed from service forthwith after notice.

The court also ordered that show-cause notices be issued to the members of selection board by the Establishment Division secretary if they belonged to the PSP cadre and by the chief secretary or the home secretary in case they are a police officer for misconduct and extending favours through illegal appointments.

The court observed that there were inherent defects in the appointments made by the selection board which cannot be condoned by lapse of time as they were not qualified, overage or domiciled of different districts.

The court earlier proposed to the Advocate General Sindh for referring the matter to the NAB, but he requested that a committee be constituted comprising senior police officers to probe into the illegalities.