MUHAMMAD 'HAFEEZ vs WAPDA through. Chairman and others
The petitioner, a former Research Officer at the Dams Safety Organization WAPDA, challenged his compulsory retirement imposed for wilful absence from duty and presenting forged medical certificates. The Service Tribunal had dismissed his appeal, upholding the penalty. Before the Supreme Court, the petitioner contested the lack of a regular inquiry regarding the alleged forged medical certificates, while conceding the charge of wilful absence. The Supreme Court observed that the charge of submitting bogus documents required a factual inquiry, which had not been conducted. The Court noted that the Service Tribunal failed to address the petitioner's specific plea that he had submitted valid medical certificates from government hospitals that were never properly examined. Consequently, the Supreme Court converted the petition into an appeal and partly allowed it. While the Court maintained the finding of wilful absence and the penalty of compulsory retirement, it set aside the finding regarding the production of forged medical certificates. The Court directed WAPDA to release the petitioner's entitled dues, establishing that serious charges of misconduct involving factual disputes require a proper inquiry rather than summary dismissal.
- Whether a charge of submitting forged medical certificates requires a regular departmental inquiry?
- Can a service tribunal dismiss an appeal without addressing specific factual pleas regarding evidence?
- Is a penalty of compulsory retirement sustainable when one of the two charges of misconduct is set aside due to lack of inquiry?
ORDER
' TASSADUQ HUSSAIN JILLANI, J.---Petitioner while serving as Research Officer, Dams Safety Organization WAPDA was proceeded against on charges of wilful absence from duty and presenting forged; medical certificate. The inquiry led to imposition of major penalty of compulsory retirement with effect from 13-4-2004. The appeal before the Service Tribunal stands dismissed vide the impugned judgment.
2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner was awarded major penalty without regular inquiry; that although the medical board constituted on 26-9-2003 did not .Find the petitioner to be suffering from any significant illness but his absence from duty was of an earlier date when he was sick; that petitioner has placed on record the medical certificate of the concerned Hospital to show that lie remained under treatment in the said Hospital and that the Medical Superintendent, Allama Iqbal Memorial Hospital, Sialkot, who was sent the certificate for verification, gave the opinion without looking at the record; that in absence of regular inquiry, petitioner had no occasion to tender the afore-referred certificate or to confront the said MS. He further added towards the end that he accepted the compulsory retirement since he has already attained the age of superannuation but he takes exception to the finding rendered that the medical certificate submitted by him was forged. Adds that he would be satisfied, if the major penalty of charge of wilful absence from duty is maintained but the latter charge i,e,. His presenting forged certificate is set aside.
3. On the last date of hearing, we had directed the learned Deputy Attorney-General for Pakistan to get in touch with respondent WAPDA and find out as to why regular inquiry was not held and why the record of the concerned medical hospitals produced by the petitioner before the competent authority in the department was not considered while imposing major penalty of compulsory retirement on charges of wilful absence and for producing bogus certificates.
4. Having sought instructions learned Law Officer submits that the respondent Authority has informed her that the petitioner's appeal remained pending before the Service Tribunal for a period of six years from 2004 to 2010 and he had ample opportunity to move Department for making a prayer for regular inquiry or to have the matter of the medical certificates inquired into but this was not done which indicates that he accepted the findings of the competent authority qua the afore referred charges.
5. Having heard learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Law Officer at some length, so far as the question of wilful absence from duty is concerned, we would not like to interfere in the findings of fact arrived at by the competent authority and concurred by the Service Tribunal.
However, on the second charge i,e, production of bogus medical certificates, we are of the view that petitioner had specifically averred in para 9, sub para iii of memo. Of appeal before the Service Tribunal that he had tendered five medical certificates issued by the medical officer of the government hospitals, duly countersigned by the medical superintendent but these documents were never examined or inquired into. The para reads as under:-- "5 Medical certificates issued by Medical officeis of Government Hospital duly countersigned by the Medical Superintendent were submitted to the office which were re-verified. Fitness certificate was accepted by the office but neither the leave in extension was sanctioned nor appellant was kept informed of the rejection of his request for leave."
6. The learned Service Tribunal did not advert to the afore-referred ground and proceeded to dismiss the appeal without realizing that not only this plea was specifically raised but also the fact that the charge that he tendered bogus certificates required factual inquiry which in the instant case admittedly was not held. In the afore-referred circumstances, we convert this petition into appeal and partly allow the 'same i,e, the finding with regard to the charge of wilful absence from duty and the penalty of compulsory retirement shall remain intact. However, the finding with regard to tendering of bogus medical certificates is set aside. The impugned judgment is modified accordingly. The respondent WAPDA is directed to release all the dues to which he may be entitled within 30 days of the receipt of this order.