SC orders Punjab to remove service tribunal member

Top court notes member illegally restored corrupt official by declaring bribery a minor offense

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court has ordered Punjab government to remove a member of the Punjab Service Tribunal for declaring taking ‘illegal gratification/bribe’ a ‘minor offence’.

A three-judge bench, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed issued a nine-page order on an appeal filed against the decision of the Punjab Service Tribunal Member-1 to restore service of a police official Muhammad Hanif.

Mianwali District Police Officer (DPO) had dismissed Hanif on charge of taking bribe of Rs20,000 from an individual after conducting an inquiry in 2016. In the departmental appeal, Sargodha Regional Police Officer (RPO) converted his dismissal into compulsory retirement.

Hanif later approached the Punjab Service Tribunal, whose Member-1 accepted his plea and restored him on service, declaring that his act constituted a 'minor offense' and did not deserve to be visited with the extreme penalty.

Setting aside this order, the judgment authored by Justice Ijazul Ahsan said: "In our view, taking illegal gratification/bribe itself is grave offence requiring imposition of major penalty and the member considering it as a minor act is altogether is unjustifiable.”

The bench noted that this conduct of the tribunal member shows that he is perhaps not qualified or lacks aptitude to hold his current position.

“The government of Punjab is therefore directed to replace him with some other qualified person whose knowledge, aptitude and experience is suitable for the post in question,” it said.

The apex court said it was unable to understand as on what legal basis, the tribunal came to the conclusion that respondent (Hanif) deserved a lenient treatment.

“What did punishment awarded to respondent have to do with the philosophy of punishment and on what basis the tribunal found that the act of an official of a disciplined force of receiving illegal gratification/bribe constitutes a minor act?”

The judgment said the tribunal order does not qualify as a judicial order which has been passed in slipshod manner, without application of relevant laws, rules and regulations.

The court held that the order shows that the member of tribunal is neither sensitive nor alive to the offence of taking illegal gratification which by law is considered a serious misconduct.

It said the apex court has time and again held that accepting illegal gratification is a heinous offence and a civil servant who is found guilty of this offence cannot be retained in the civil service and major penalty has to be imposed on him.

The apex court also noted that the self-styled philosophy of punishment, retribution, deterrence versus reformation etc has time and again appeared in the orders passed by the Member-1.

“The modus operandi adopted by the member raises questions about his professional capacity to deal such matters related to civil servants who are involved in misconduct.” The judgment noted that the member opted to evolve his own philosophy of punishment having underpinnings of reformation.

“We do not know how many judgments/orders on the same line have been issued by the Member-1 of tribunal. Some of the judgments which have come before this court and are based on the same philosophy developed by the Member-1 have been set aside by us.”

“His continuing to hold this position would not be in the best interest of litigants or the system of administration of justice,” the verdict said.