1. ' TANVIR AHMED KHAN, J.---Leave to appeal is sought against the judgment dated 16-2-1998 of the Punjab Service Tribunal, Lahore (hereinafter referred to as the Tribunal), dismissing petitioner's Appeal No,66 of 1995 and maintaining his dismissal order dated 22-3-1989.
2. ' This case has a chequered history. The petitioner, at the relevant time, was working as a Trade Instructor in the Government Vocational Institute, Sahiwal. While working there, F.I.R. No,435 of 1988 was got registered against him at Police Station 'B' Division, Sahiwal, under section 380 P.P.C. For misappropriation/theft of certain material from the Institute. The petitionerwas charge-sheeted and after holding enquiry he was dismissed from service vide order dated 22-3-1989. In departmental appeal the penalty of dismissal was converted into removal from service through an order dated 14-1-1990. This order was assailed by the petitioner before the Tribunal on 8-3-1992 and the case was remanded to the Appellate Authority for decision afresh vide order dated 10-1- 1993. On remand the Appellate Authority again imposed the major penalty of removal from service upon the petitioner, whereupon he filed Appeal No,53 of 1993 before the Tribunal.
3. ' The Tribunal through its order dated 30-4-1994 set aside the impugned order and again remanded the case to the Authority for holding de novo proceedings against the petitioner with a direction that it would be better if some other officer of an equivalent status is appointed to work as the Authority.
4. ' Subsequent thereto, a full-fledged enquiry was held and the petitioner was afforded full opportunity. He was given personal hearing by the Authority and thereafter he was dismissed from service vide order dated 4-9-1994. In departmental appeal he was given full opportunity to present his case and the same was dismissed vide an order dated 12-3-1995. Then he filed aforesaid Appeal No,66 of 1995, subject-matter of the present petition, which has been dismissed through the judgment dated 16-2-1998, impugned herein. Hence this petition for leave to appeal.
5. ' The petitioner, who has argued his case personally, has stated that he was implicated in the above case in a mala fide manner at the behest of the Principal of the Institute at Sahiwal who was inimical towards him. He has further stated that criminal case registered against him vide F.I.R. No, 435 of 1988, was quashed by a learned Single Judge of the Lahore High Court in Criminal MiscellaneousNo,36-Q of 1990 on 14-10-1992. The theft, according to him, was committed by certain other trainees who were not brought to book.
6. We have considered the contentions raised by the petitioner and have gone through the entire material placed on record. We have noticed that the petitioner was granted full opportunity and his stance that his acquittal from the criminal case should be considered as a bar for departmental proceedings, is totally without any force. Both proceedings, criminal as well as departmental, can go side by side. Reliance in this respect is placed on the cases of Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Lahore and others v. Aneesur Rehman Khan (PLD 1985 SC 134), Mir Nawaz Khan v. Federation of Pakistan through Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Islamabad and 2 others (1996 SCM R 315) and Muhammad Ayub versus Chairman, Electricity Board WAPDA, Peshawar (PLD 1987 SC 195).
7. ' Resultantly, for the foregoing reasons, we do not see any force in this petition. Even otherwise, it is not a case wherein any substantial question of law of public importance as contemplated under Article 212(3) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is involved. The instant petition is, accordingly, dismissed and .