ACE cases referral causes confusion

Legal experts question legitimacy of process, DG admits shortage of manpower

JARANWALA:

Hundreds of cases continue to be shuttled between the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) and the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Office.

Punjab ACE Director General Suhail Zafar Chattha responded to the ongoing situation, stating that he had immediately recalled all cases referred to the DC office for further inquiry.

He added that an internal investigation into the alleged negligence was already underway.

A resident of Chak 237 GB Jaranwala, shared his ordeal after filing a complaint with ACE against a manager in the Auqaf Department for excluding him from a land lease auction six months ago.

Despite filing the complaint, Ali said he was never summoned by an investigation officer, only to learn that his application had been handed over to the DC office without any action being taken.

"Neither ACE nor the DC office has contacted me so far," Ali said.

Similarly, Khalid Ahmad of Chak 4 GB filed a complaint with the Metropolitan Corporation (MC) in October 2023, accusing an office boy of bribing him Rs275,000 for a job.

Although the MC referred the case to ACE, Ahmad said he was called only once by ACE before the case was transferred to the DC office, where it was declared non-maintainable.

Ahmad questioned why a case involving the MC would be referred to the DC office.

According to Malik Aftab Shahzad Jora, an advocate and human rights activist, the referral of cases from ACE to the DC office goes against the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment Rules of 2014.

He explained that under Section 3 of the rules, ACE is empowered to investigate offenses autonomously without the involvement of other government departments. He added that ACE's independent investigation, prosecution, legal and complaint redressal wings were established to handle such cases, making the referral process questionable.

Jora called on the director general (DG) of ACE Punjab to take action against ACE Faisalabad for allegedly violating laws and to withdraw all cases referred to the DC office. "It is ironic that when a complainant files a case against a department, ACE refers the case back to that same department for relief," he said.

A retired ACE director, who requested anonymity, echoed Jora's concerns, questioning why the powers of investigation were being delegated to other departments when ACE was established specifically for this purpose.

He called the referral process devoid of any legitimacy."

Iftikhar Gill, in charge of the DC office's complaint cell, confirmed receiving over 200 cases from ACE during the last five months, and that his office had been issuing call notices to applicants.

He pointed out that several of the referred cases involved mutual agreements between the parties, yet were still handed over to the DC office instead of being dismissed by ACE. Some of these cases, Gill noted, were even sub judice in the courts, but were referred for further inquiry regardless.

Faisalabad Deputy Commissioner Captain (Retd) Nadeem Nasir also expressed confusion over why cases involving ACE's jurisdiction were being transferred to his office, especially when ACE has its own investigative framework. "Road repairs, for example, are not my domain; they fall under the Highway Department. So why is ACE sending me such cases?"

Regional Director of ACE Kunwar Khalid Mahmood, admitted to referring approximately 100 cases to the DC office due to a severe manpower shortage.

He acknowledged that some cases were dropped by investigation officers but preferred referring them to the DC office to ensure justice.