Sitting Panel: Abdur Rehman Khan and Sh. Riaz Ahmed, JJ

Summary: This case involves petitions filed by the Federation of Pakistan against the judgment of the Federal Service Tribunal, which allowed the appeals of Saleemullah Khan (respondent) and ordered his reinstatement in service with full back benefits. Saleemullah Khan, a member of the Police Service of Pakistan, was proceeded against under the Government Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 1973, on nine charges including illegal collection of funds, misappropriation, false certifications, and unauthorized appointments. The Inquiry Officer’s report partly proved only one charge related to collection of funds, disproving misappropriation, and found other charges unproven or misplaced. Despite the Inquiry Officer’s findings, the competent authority initially imposed a penalty of “removal from service,” which was later converted to “compulsory retirement” through a corrigendum, allegedly without proper authority or notice to the competent authority.

The Supreme Court upheld the Tribunal’s decision, finding the proceedings against Saleemullah Khan “totally illegal and contrary to rules”. The Court highlighted several irregularities: the corrigendum converting the penalty was issued by a lower authority without the competent authority’s approval, rendering it null and void as the department had become “functus officio” after the initial notification. Furthermore, the initial removal from service was contrary to the competent authority’s direction of compulsory retirement. The Court also scrutinized the charges, concluding that most were not proven or were frivolous, with no evidence of misappropriation. The Court found that the respondent appeared to have been “victimized” and dismissed the petitions, refusing leave to appeal.

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