Supreme Court quashes penalty of a civil servant; Lays down far-reaching legal principles

Ch. Afrasiab Khan, ASC, has successfully represented a civil servant (Deputy District Education Officer) before the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He had appealed from a decision of the Punjab Service Tribunal upholding the penalty imposed on him by the competent authority. On, 17-08-2023, the Supreme Court allowed the appeal and quashed the penalty. In its detailed judgment, the Court has laid down some important and far-reaching legal principles.

The Court has held that the Law intends that a show cause notice must conform to at least seven essential elements:

1. It should be in writing and should be worded appropriately
2. It should clearly state the nature of charge(s), date and place of the commission or omission of acts, along with apportionment of responsibility
3. It should clearly quote the relevant clause under which the delinquent is liable to be punished
4. It should also indicate the proposed penalty in case the charge is proved
5. It should specify the date and time by which explanation should be submitted
6. It should be issued under the signatures of the competent authority
7. It should contain the time, date and place of the inquiry and the name of the inquiry officer

Secondly, the Court has held that a judicial order must be a speaking order manifesting by itself hat the court or tribunal has made an effort to resolve the questions involved for their proper adjudication. If the final order does not bear an imprint of such effort and, on the contrary, discloses arbitrariness of thought and action, the inescapable result would be that justice had neither been done nor seemed to have been done.

The title of the case is Sanaullah Sani vs. Secretary Education Schools etc. The Judgment has been reported at 2024 SCMR 80 and 2024 PLC (C.S.) 161 SC. It can also be downloaded from the Supreme Court website by clicking here.