ABAD ALI vs DIRECTOR FOOD, PUNJAB, LAHORE and others
This matter arises from a petition for leave to appeal directed against the dismissal of a service appeal by the Punjab Service Tribunal. The petitioner was dismissed from service as a Junior Clerk following disciplinary proceedings that found him guilty of procuring his appointment through a fake and bogus Matriculation result card. The core legal question concerns the validity of the departmental proceedings, the imposition of the major penalty of dismissal, and whether sufficient grounds existed to condone a massive delay of 2130 days in filing the petition. The Supreme Court held that the departmental inquiry was conducted comprehensively, finding the petitioner guilty with no substantiated malice proven against the inquiry officers, and that the petition was both hopelessly time-barred and entirely without merit. The key principle laid down is that a belated challenge without plausible justification cannot be condoned, and concurrent findings of departmental authorities and the service tribunal based on valid inquiries regarding fraudulent appointments will be upheld.
- Whether the Supreme Court can condone an inordinate delay of over two thousand days in filing a petition for leave to appeal without plausible justification?
- Does the removal of a fake document prior to its verification absolve an employee from disciplinary action for procuring employment through fraud?
- Whether unproven allegations of malice against a subordinate official vitiate regular disciplinary proceedings conducted by an independent inquiry officer and authority?
ORDER
' JAVED IQBAL, J.---The petitioner was dismissed from service as a result of disciplinary proceedings initiated against him on account of procuring his appointment as Junior Cierk, on the basis of fake and bogus Matriculation result card which too was subsequently removed by the petitioner prior to its verification. Being aggrieved a departmental appeal was preferred and after its dismissal the learned Punjab Service Tribunal was approached by means of Appeal bearing No,18 of 1993 which has also been dismissed.
2. We have carefully examined the entire record and also perused the judgment impugned. A careful scrutiny of the record transpires that a comprehensive inquiry was got conducted by the Inquiry Officer who found the petitioner guilty and while concurring with the inquiry report the authorized officer recommended imposition of major penalty on the petitioner. The Authority imposed the major penalty of dismissal after having taken into consideration the inquiry report and recommendation of the authorized officer. The plea of petitioner that a false and concocted case was manipulated by the Superintendent, namely Muhammad Sharif who had taken. Rs,1500 from him as a loan and subsequently refused to pay the same back and on his insistence he became annoyed and nourished grudge which resulted into his dismissal from service appears to be an afterthought and fabricated as no evidence worth the name could be led to get it substantiated. No receipt was prcduced showing that a sum of Rs,1500 was given to Muhammad Sharif, Superintendent as loan and no mention whatsoever has been made that before whom the said amount was given to Muhammad Sharif. For the sake of arguments if it is admitted that Muhammad Sharif, Superintendent nourished grudge against him but no malice has been alleged against the Inquiry Officer, Authorized Officer and Authority who could not have been influenced by Muhammad Sharif who was also a little fry in the organization and therefore, the question of false concoction of case does not arise. It is also the case of petitioner that he was never appointed as Junior Clerk but record negates his version and appointment as Junior Clerk was admitted by the petitioner before the learned Punjab Service Tribunal. He has absolutely no case on merit and besides that this petition for leave to appeal is barred by 2130 days and the delay whereof cannot be condoned without any plausible justification which is lacking in this case.
' The petition being barred by time and meritless is dismissed.