• Asks if institutions can issue verbal orders
• Inquires under which law officers are transferred on caretaker govt’s orders

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday suspended repatriation orders to the federal government of Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ghulam Mehmood Dogar but regretted the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) failure to furnish any record showing how permission to transfer the officer was granted on a verbal request.

“The order of transfer of CCPO was suspended and will be taken up for further hearing along with the transfer posting of police officers on political basis by a larger bench,” observed Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan while dictating an order.

The bench, also consisting of Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, had taken up the transfer of CCPO Lahore Ghulam Mehmood Dogar.

At the outset, Justice Ahsan felt the absence of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja despite earlier directions and inquired about his whereabouts. He was told that CEC was indisposed but has authorised Secretary ECP Omar Hamid Khan to submit the minutes of the meeting under which CCPO Lahore was transferred.

The court was also interested in knowing could the CEC alone decide to transfer the officers, or such decision vests upon ECP and whether transfer of officers on verbal order was a regular norm in the commission or not. Could the constitutional institutions issue verbal orders, observed Justice Akhtar.

The secretary replied in negative but when he requested the court for more time so that a comprehensive reply be filed, Justice Akhtar observed that time was running out since the elections have to be held within a stipulated period of 90 days in Punjab. Justice Akhtar also observed that the principle responsibility of ECP was to hold the elections and wondered could the law authorise the commission to transfer any officer on the call of Mr X, also asking under which law assistant commissioners were transferred at the request of a caretaker government.

The secretary explained that such transfers had been done earlier also after verbal request; a written request was also made.

On Thursday, CEC had told the court that ECP had received a request from the Punjab government for the transfer of the petitioner and permission for such transfer was granted by ECP in exercise of powers under Section 230(2)(f) of the Elections Act 2017.

Section 230(2)(f) of the act stated that the caretaker government will not transfer public officials unless it is considered expedient and after approval from ECP.

In its order the SC stated that the secretary ECP had placed on record the minutes of the meeting in which ECP allowed the Punjab government to make necessary transfer but failed to show any record of verbal request and permission of the transfer of the petitioner.

The record also failed to show verbal order was a regular feature, the order said, adding that it seems that verbal permission of the transfer of the petitioner was given and thereafter it was subsequently approved, despite the fact that the matter of the transfer/postings of police officers was sub judice.

Referring to the holding of elections in Punjab within 90 days, the court said in its order, the matter had already been referred to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial for an appropriate order.

In its Thursday’s order, the SC had stated that CJP may consider it appropriate after invoking jurisdiction under Article 184(3) of the Constitution to constitute a bench for taking up the matter.

During the hearing president Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) Shoaib Shaheen also invited the attention of the court to a pending petition seeking direction for ECP as well as governors Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) to immediately announce the election date in the respective provinces where the provincial assemblies have been dissolved.

The court however told president IHCBA that since the matter was not before it therefore it will not take up the petition.

President IHCBA however submitted a separate application before the apex court with a request that since the apex court had recommended for suo motu action regarding the holding of the elections within 90 days and since his case was of the exact same nature and for the same cause, therefore his petition be taken up for hearing along with the suo motu case whenever heard.

In his appeal Ghulam Mehmood Dogar through his counsel Advocate Abid Shahid Zuberi had challenged the Nov 24, 2022 direction of the Federal Services Tribunal (FST) of allowing a notification issued for the repatriation of CCPO Lahore to the federal government.

The petition had pleaded that CCPO was subjected to victimisation due to political vendetta between the federal and the Punjab governments.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2023