A two-member bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) has upheld the legal action taken by Anti-Corruption Bannu against several officers, including a former district education officer, over allegations of recruiting teachers on fake certificates and irregularities in the Bannu Education Department.
Court dismissed the petitions filed against the action and disposed of writ petitions filed by four other officers.
The two-member bench, comprising Justice Dr Khurshid Iqbal and Justice Aurangzeb, heard separate writ petitions filed by former DEO Bannu Bakhtullah Shah, former Legislation Officer Education Bannu Barkat Ali, former DEO Principal Ikramullah Khan, former Section Officer Education Anwar Qureshi, former DEO Female Saeeda Anjum, former DEO Female Fanoos Jamal, and Budget Officer Bannu, Reham Riaz.
The Chief Secretary, Secretary Establishment Director Anti-Corruption and others were made parties to the writs.
The petitions argued that the officers were accused of making fake recruitments of AT and TT teachers in Bannu during their tenures. The petitioners maintained that the recruitments were conducted in accordance with the law, yet allegations of abuse of power and causing losses to the national exchequer were made against them. Show-cause notices were issued, and they were personally heard.
Later, on the orders of the Chief Secretary and based on a letter issued by the Secretary Establishment and Administration Department on January 17, 2024, Anti-Corruption Bannu initiated proceedings for the registration of FIRs and arrests against them, which the officers challenged in court.
They took the stand that various departmental inquiries were also conducted against them. Although the PHC had already suspended the inquiry against them on the writ petition of Farhat Bibi in 2020, the court has dismissed these petitions.
Similarly, petitioners Saeeda Anjum and Fanoos Jamal contended that a baseless inquiry was conducted against them on the directions of the chief minister.
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