MUHAMMAD SHAFIQUE vs DIRECTOR GENERAL, PUNJAB, EMERGENCY SERVICE, LAHORE Rr

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MUHAMMAD SHAFIQUE VS DIRECTOR GENERAL, PUNJAB, EMERGENCY SERVICE, LAHORE Rr. 6 & 7---Special Offences and penalties---Unauthorized absence from duty---Involvement and acquittal in criminal case---Absence beyond the control of employee---Effect---Unauthorized absence when to be treated as willful absence or otherwise---Determination---Imposition of alien penalty (not provided under the prevalent Rules) applied while proceeding against the employee---Legality---Petitioner after his acquittal from criminal case filed departmental appeal, which was dismissed being barred by time and also on the ground that criminal and departmental proceedings could be initiated side by side---Validity---Absence without any application or prior permission may amount to unauthorized absence, but it does not always mean that the same is willful---Where absence is not willful, the employee cannot be held guilty of failure of devotion to the duty or behaviour unbecoming of a government servant, thus, where an absent employee comes back and seeks to join his duty, the departmental authorities are obligated to determine whether the unauthorized absence was willful or was the result of compelling circumstances beyond the control of the employee---Element of "willfulness" was never looked into in the petitioner's case as there were compelling circumstances of registration of the FIR against the petitioner, and his consequent arrest and incarceration in jail rendered it beyond his control to report to the authorities---Extreme punishment of removal had been awarded without any inquiry or determination by considering the cause of absence---High Court held that every unauthorized absence is not willful absence if the same is caused by compelling circumstances beyond the control of an employee---Petitioner had been non-suited on the ground that criminal and departmental proceedings could go on side by side and the departmental proceedings were independent of the result of criminal proceedings---Result of criminal proceedings could not have bearing on the departmental proceedings but this proposition of law was relevant where departmental proceedings and criminal proceedings were based upon same occurrence and mere exoneration in criminal proceedings did not absolve the delinquent official from the departmental proceedings as both involve different standards of proof---Issue in petitioner's case was neither exoneration from the criminal proceedings and benefit thereof in the departmental proceedings nor the underlying occurrence in the criminal and departmental proceedings was same, rather the issue was whether the unauthorized absence of the petitioner from duty was willful or otherwise, on account of arrest in a criminal case---Petitioner's reference to his arrest in criminal case followed by criminal proceedings and his subsequent acquittal were the reasons justifying his absence and for not filing the appeal within time, therefore, petitioner's appeal had been erroneously dismissed being time barred---There was no other punishment except one provided in R.6 of the Punjab Emergency Service Leave, Efficiency and Discipline Rules, 2007 (Rules) i.e. deduction of 1/5th of salary with allowance for each day's absence---Removal of the petitioner, who was regular employee of the respondent department was not envisaged under R.6 of the Rules---Department under R.7 of the Rules could initiate disciplinary proceedings against its regular employee in accordance with Punjab Employees Efficiency Discipline Act, 2006 (PEEDA) and in order to remove the petitioner under the PEEDA, it was obligatory upon the department to prove his willful absence from duty, but element of "willfulness" was never looked into by the competent authority---Constitutional petition was allowed, in circumstances.

MUHAMMAD SHAFIQUE vs DIRECTOR GENERAL, PUNJAB, EMERGENCY SERVICE, LAHORE Rr — 2025 PLC(CS) 214 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE

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