CCTV footage has shown that two senior officers, SSPs Khurram Waris and Noorul Haq Rind, had indeed grabbed a DSP at the Supreme Court as he emerged victorious in an out-of-turn promotions case. The DSP says he was beaten, but Waris has maintained that they were restraining him from ‘insulting the judges’.
The police appointed DIG Investigations Bashir A Memon to investigate the mess after the court asked for a report. The police told the court Memon would be impartial while investigating his own. On Thursday, Memon submitted his findings but aside from identifying the two key officers he said he had yet to discover who the other men were.
The bench asked him to find out about every man seen in the footage and submit a report to the Sindh police chief who in turn was asked to send it to the chief secretary. The bench then directed the state counsel to submit a report about action taken against the delinquent police officers.
Out-of-turn promotions
In a related development, on Thursday, the hearing of a petition questioning out-of-turn promotions in the Sindh police, which was almost ripe for judgment, was adjourned indefinitely as a new ordinance came in its way.
The ordinance was rushed through by the Sindh government on Tuesday, giving sweeping powers to the chief minister to deal with such cases. Apparently the government acted out of fear of an adverse judgment in petitions challenging the out-of-turn promotions, the absorption of federal service officers in the provincial departments, the posting of officers on deputation, the hiring of retired government servants on contract and adhoc or temporary appointments.
A full bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, comprising Justices Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Amir Hani Muslim and Muhammad Ather Saeed, heard the case for many days. However, at the outset of hearing, the bench said that in view of the promulgation of the ordinance, the hearing was being put off indefinitely.
The bench observed, however, while parting with the hearing, that if any person had any grievance or objection to the promulgation of the ordinance they could approach the apex court.
The same bench also disposed of a suo motu notice in a case of the beating of DSP Malik Maqsood, a petitioner in an out-of-turn promotions case in the police department, who was manhandled by a number of men in civilian clothes inside the premises of the court on Tuesday.
Another full bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justice Anwar Zaheer jamali, Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Justice Muhammad Ather Saeed, had on Wednesday adjourned the hearing of another case filed by officers of the Secretariat Group against inductions of ex-cadre officers after the court was informed about the ordinance.
The bench had said: “The situation has changed altogether after the promulgation of the new ordinance.” The bench also ordered that “the matter shall not be treated as part heard”, paving the way for hearings by any other bench of the apex court.
The new ordinance, tailor-made to cover all alleged illegal acts of the government, has saved thousands of illegal appointments and postings.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2012.
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