Wrongful termination of police officer
SCMR 1220 · Supreme Court of Pakistan
This case involved a police officer, an Assistant Sub-Inspector, who was dismissed from service in 1994 over a charge of being absent from duty. His appeal to the Service Tribunal was rejected. However, in 2005 the Chief Minister accepted his mercy petition and directed his reinstatement. The authorities implemented this directive, and the officer went on to complete required training, get his name entered into the promotion list, and was eventually promoted twice, first to Sub-Inspector and later to Inspector.
Two years after reinstatement, the government issued a show-cause notice claiming the reinstatement itself had been illegal, but later withdrew this notice while a court case challenging it was pending. Despite this, years later in 2002 the authorities dismissed the officer again, this time retroactively, treating his service as having ended back in 1994. The Service Tribunal ruled in his favor, and the government appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court refused to grant leave to appeal, upholding the officer's reinstatement. It held that dismissal cannot be made retrospective unless a law specifically allows it, and that a wrong cannot be corrected at any time, especially after someone has served diligently and earned promotions over many years. The Court also noted that once the government withdrew its show-cause notice, the matter was closed and could not be reopened without lawful justification. This case highlights protections against arbitrary retrospective punishment and the importance of finality in administrative decisions affecting employees' careers.
یہ مقدمہ ایک پولیس افسر، اسسٹنٹ سب انسپکٹر، سے متعلق ہے جسے 1994 میں ڈیوٹی سے غیر حاضر رہنے کے الزام میں ملازمت سے برخاست کر دیا گیا تھا۔ سروس ٹریبونل میں اس کی اپیل مسترد ہو گئی۔ تاہم 2005 میں وزیراعلیٰ نے اس کی رحم کی درخواست منظور کرتے ہوئے اسے بحال کرنے کی ہدایت جاری کی۔ حکام نے اس ہدایت پر عمل درآمد کیا، اور افسر نے مطلوبہ تربیت مکمل کی، اس کا نام ترقی کی فہرست میں شامل ہوا، اور بالآخر اسے دو مرتبہ ترقی دی گئی، پہلے سب انسپکٹر اور بعد میں انسپکٹر کے عہدے پر۔
بحالی کے دو سال بعد، حکومت نے ایک شوکاز نوٹس جاری کیا جس میں دعویٰ کیا گیا کہ اس کی بحالی بذاتِ خود غیر قانونی تھی، لیکن بعد میں یہ نوٹس واپس لے لیا گیا جبکہ اس کے خلاف عدالت میں ایک مقدمہ زیرِ التوا تھا۔ اس کے باوجود، برسوں بعد 2002 میں حکام نے افسر کو دوبارہ برخاست کر دیا، اس بار ماضی سے لاگو ہونے والے انداز میں، یعنی اس کی سروس کو