SC seeks details of probe against cops responsible for illegal appointments in Hyderabad police

Responsible officers should be thrown out on the streets, says Justice Gulzar Ahmed

KARACHI: The Supreme Court sought all details pertaining to action taken against officials involved in illegal appointments in Hyderabad district police. A three-member bench headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Maqbool Baqar and Justice Munib Akhtar heard the plea of 213 police officers expelled from police service over illegal appointments at the Karachi registry on Monday.

The court inquired about the police officer who made these appointments. "What is the fault of the people who were appointed after making payments? Who were those who took money and made the appointments," asked Justice Ahmed.

The investigations against the responsible officers are under way, replied a Sindh police representative.



Justice Ahmed remarked that the responsible officers should be dismissed, not just have proceedings carried out against them. "Throw such officers out on the streets. It seems that every police officer has appointed his own people in the police department," remarked Justice Ahmed. There are so many police officers employed in the department that the entire budget of Sindh government is probably spent on this, he added.

The counsel for the government conceded that fake appointments were made but added that the National Testing Service (NTS) test was conducted again.

"It is very easy to appoint someone after taking money and then leave it to the court," remarked Justice Ahmed.

The court in its conversation with the government's counsel said that who knew better than the counsel how the affairs are managed in the police department.

"It is known how much work is done on merit," remarked Justice Baqar.

The court directed officials to apprise the court in four weeks about the proceedings against police officers. It also directed the lawyers of the former police officers to come prepared. The court sought all details of the proceedings against police officers involved in the illegal appointments.

The plea maintained that the SC had issued orders to begin investigation against the appointments made in the Sindh Reserve Police. However, the investigations began against the Hyderabad district police instead. The police officers were fired without being served a show-cause notice or required legal proceedings.

Regularisation of teachers

The same bench maintained the orders of the Sindh High Court (SHC) while hearing the case pertaining to regularisation of teachers serving in educational institutions at the Pakistan Steel Mills.



Justice Ahmed asked how the payments to teachers were made since the suspension of PSM's operations. "We have to borrow money from the World Bank in order to pay the salaries. An institution as big as this is closed and the burden of employee salaries has increased," he remarked.

The counsel for the teachers maintained that while the PSM plant was closed, educational institutions were working.

The SHC had directed for regularisation of teachers in its March 2018 orders. Instead of regularising the nine teachers, the PSM administration filed an appeal.

In its remarks, the court observed that the counsel had conveyed the consent of his client on the regularisation of teachers during the hearing at the high court. He must be ready to pay the fine if the case was going to proceed, remarked Justice Baqar.

The court dismissed the petition after its withdrawal by the PSM's counsel and advised the PSM to implement SHC's orders.

Bail pleas rejected

Meanwhile, a two-member bench comprising Justice Mushir Alam and Justice Faisal Arab rejected the pre-arrest bail pleas of two accused, Amjad and Aslam, in a case pertaining to illegal allotment of 530 acres of land in Korangi. National Accountability Bureau (NAB) foiled the escape attempt of the two accused and arrested them.

NAB officials stopped Advocate Khwaja Naveed's car in which the accused were attempting to flee and made the arrest outside the Karachi registry.

According to NAB, the accused illegally obtained over 35 acres of land in Korangi. Earlier, the SHC had also rejected the bail pleas of the accused.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 4^th, 2019.