ABDUL SATTAR vs GOVERNMENT OF THE PUNJAB Through ADDITIONAL
This petition arises from a judgment of the Punjab Service Tribunal, which dismissed the petitioner's appeal against his dismissal from service as time-barred. The petitioner, a police official, was dismissed from service in 1978 following allegations of intoxication. After his initial departmental appeal and revision were dismissed in 1979, the petitioner filed multiple subsequent mercy petitions and representations to the Inspector-General of Police, all of which were rejected. The core legal question was whether these repeated, unauthorized representations could extend the statutory period of limitation for filing an appeal before the Service Tribunal. The Supreme Court upheld the Tribunal's decision, holding that the petitioner had exhausted his statutory right of appeal and revision in 1979. The Court affirmed the principle that filing repeated, unauthorized representations or mercy petitions does not extend the period of limitation for seeking legal remedies, as such actions are futile exercises that cannot legally toll the limitation period prescribed by law.
- Does the filing of repeated mercy petitions or representations extend the period of limitation for filing an appeal before a Service Tribunal?
- Can a litigant extend the limitation period by pursuing remedies not provided for in the governing service rules?
- Section 4/24/77, Excise Ordinance
ORDER
S. A. NUSRAT, J.-- This petition is from the judgment of the Punjab Service Tribunal, dated 21-11-1983 whereby the appeal of the petitioner was dismissed, inter alia, as time-barred.
2. The petitioner, while posted on duty was found in the state of intoxication and was arrested and a case was registered against him under section 4/24/77 of the Excise Ordinance at Police Station, Yakki Gate, Lahore. After due service of show-cause notice on the aforesaid allegation and calling upon him as to show cause why one or more major penalties as prescribed under the rules may not be imposed upon him, he was dismissed from service by an order dated 4-10-1978. His appeal against the order of dismissal was dismissed on 15-1-1979 by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Lahore Range. His revision/ mercy petition was also dismissed by the Inspector-General of Police on 25-11-1979. Contemporaneously the petitioner was also prosecuted under the Excise Ordinance but was acquitted by the Magistrate on the ground that the prosecution had failed to produce any witness in spite of repeated attempts. The petitioner thereafter, again moved the Inspector --General of Police of Punjab and his representation was rejected on 31-8-1980. Another mercy petition revision petition filed by him was also rejected by the Inspector-General of Police on 7-1-1982. The petitioner having thus failed in the second round of his representations, filed an appeal before the Punjab Service Tribunal which was hopelessly time-barred as from the orders passed in 1979 on his appeal and revision. The Tribunal, in the circumstances found, and rightly so, that the petitioner had only one right of appeal and revision and there was no provision of filing any further appeal or revision in the matter which was an exercise in futility and thereby the period of limitation could not be extended. The appeal was thus dismissed as time-barred. This finding of the learned Tribunal is unexceptionable. The petition is devoid of any force and is dismissed.