SHC's ruling on IG removal likely today

Earlier, another bench had reserved its verdict on May 30

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) is scheduled to pronounce today (Thursday) its verdict on civil society's petition challenging the removal of Sindh Inspector-General of Police Allah Dino Khawaja from his post by the provincial government and seeking reforms in the police department.

A two-judge bench, comprising Justices Munib Akhtar and Omar Sial, will announce the judgment.

Earlier, another bench, headed by Justice Akhtar, had on May 30 reserved its verdict after hearing concluding arguments from the lawyers representing the petitioners, the federal and provincial governments and IG Khawaja.



The petition was filed by a group of non-profit organisations, including the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research and Urban Resource Centre, seeking reforms in the policing system and against the Sindh government's decision to send IG Khawaja on 'forced' leave in December last year.

Later, in April this year, they moved two applications seeking contempt of court proceedings against the provincial authorities for removing Khawaja from the IG's post in violation of the court's stay order and assigning the additional charge of the post to AIG Abdul Majid Dasti.

Ever since, the court had stayed IG Khawaja's removal from office.
In his concluding arguments, the petitioners' lawyer, Faisal Siddiqui, had told the judges that in its letter addressed to the cabinet division dated March 31, the Sindh government had requested the federal government to take back the IG's services and issue a notification to this effect.



However, before the federal government could issue the notification, the provincial government removed IG Khawaja the next day from the post of top cop and issued a notification regarding the surrender of his services to the Centre on its own.

He had argued that the provincial government had revived the Police Act, 1861 through the Police Act, 2011 and had repealed the Police Order, 2002.

The lawyer had contended that there were no grounds for the provincial government to object to the contents of the petition. He had also refuted the provincial advocate-general's allegations that the petitioners had filed the petition in collusion with IG Khawaja and the federal government. The AG gave no proof of such allegations, he added.



In his arguments, AG Barrister Zamir Ghumro had contended that the provincial government had the authority to appoint the IG, adding that Khawaja was not removed from the post because he was working on an own-pay scale (OPS) basis. Therefore, he had told the judges that the laws requiring the heads of the provincial government departments to serve on the post for a term of five years does not apply to Khawaja.

He had pleaded the court to dismiss the petition as it lacked merit for passing any order.