ASIF HUSSAIN CHANGAZI vs SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER, MUZAFFARGARH CANAL CIRCLE, MULTAN S

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ASIF HUSSAIN CHANGAZI VS SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER, MUZAFFARGARH CANAL CIRCLE, MULTAN S.2---Individual---Qualification as a civil servant, determination of---Criteria---In determining whether an individual qualifies as a servant under breadth of statutory protections available under the S. 2 of the Punjab Civil Servants Act, 1974, the courts are to look beyond the initial form of appointment to the substance of the service relationship---The criteria includes (i) holding a post in connection with the affairs of the Province, (ii) serving under an organization governed by provincial law; (iii) receiving remuneration from the public exchequer through a sanctioned budget; and (iv) being subject to the hierarchical control and service rules of a government department. S.4---Constitution of Pakistan, Art. 10-A---Civil servant---Termination---Disciplinary proceedings, initiation of---Show-Cause Notice, non-issuance of---Inquiry, non-holding of---Effect---Right of fair trial---Scope---Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act, 2006, provides a mandatory procedural framework for imposing disciplinary penalties on civil servants, which mandates the issuance of a charge sheet, appointment of an impartial inquiry officer, the right to defend against allegations, and issuance of a speaking order grounded in evidence, however in the present case, none of said statutory safeguards were observed---Appellants were not served with any charge sheet, no inquiry officer was appointed and no formal inquiry was conducted---The omission to comply with said mandatory procedural requirements constituted a fatal illegality and rendered the entire proceedings null and void---Article 10-A of the Constitution enshrines the right process as an inviolable fundamental right---Thus, the impugned disciplinary proceedings were vitiated by serious violations of statutory provisions, constitutional guarantees, due process and principles of natural justice---Punjab Service Tribunal set-aside the impugned orders and reinstated appellants into service while the matter was remanded to the competent authority to conduct de novo inquiry proceedings, strictly in accordance with law---Appeals were allowed accordingly. S.4---Civil servant---Termination---Disciplinary proceedings, initiation of---Show-Cause Notice, non-issuance of---Inquiry, non-holding of---Effect---Appellants, after regularization, continued to discharge their duties without adverse service entries or disciplinary blemishes, but they were summarily terminated through cyclostyled orders, which referred to the departmental directive alleging large-scale irregularities in appointments---Said termination orders were issued without the issuance of Show-Cause Notices, without the framing of precise charges and without initiation of any formal inquiry under Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act, 2006---The disciplinary proceedings cannot be sustained on the basis of generalized administrative conclusions or institutional suspicion in the absence of individualized inquiry and concrete evidence---Thus, the impugned disciplinary proceedings were vitiated by serious violations of statutory provisions, due process and principles of natural justice---Punjab Service Tribunal set-aside the impugned orders and reinstated appellants into service while the matter was remanded to the competent authority to conduct de novo inquiry proceedings, strictly in accordance with law---Appeals were allowed accordingly.

ASIF HUSSAIN CHANGAZI vs SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER, MUZAFFARGARH CANAL CIRCLE, MULTAN S — 2026 PLC(CS) 138 PUNJAB SERVICE TRIBUNAL

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