ORDER ABDUL WAHEED KHAN, J. The District Coordination Officer City District Government Lahore through Letter No.RDM/656 dated 19-5-2011, in exercise of powers under subsection (1) of section 3 of the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960, ordered that Khawaja Khalid Pervaiz son of Ghulam Haider resident of House No.14, Street No.22, Hall Road, Lahore be arrested and detained for a period of 30 days with immediate effect and that his custody be placed under the superintendence of Central Jail, Kot Lakhpat, Lahore. The reasons for the said detention have been given in para-2 of the aforementioned order which are reproduced hereunder:-- "AND WHEREAS, 18-5-2011 District Officer (Public Facilities) City District Government, Lahore has reported that Khawaja Khalid Pervaiz is running an illegal parking stand at Hall Road, Bagchi on a piece of Government Land. He has reported that on 16-4-2011 he along with police party got vacated the illegal possession from him and deputed his Tax Collector on the site in question to collect Government Revenue from said parking point but next day, Khawaja Khalid Pervaiz and other unknown armed persons again occupied the said State Land/plot and threatened the Official of City District Government, Lahore of dire consequences in case he came back at the spot. He has further added that many attempts were made by the City District Government Lahore during last two months to take over the said State Land but Khawaja Khalid Pervaiz threatened that he will not hand over the site at any cost. Thus, he is forcibly continuing his possession over Government Land and is illegally collecting Government Tax from general public. He is not willing to abide by the law of the land and is posing threats to public safety and order."
2. The aforementioned order has been assailed before this Court through this constitutional petition mainly on the grounds that the impugned order has been rendered in complete oblivion of the facts and circumstances of the case, the same is manifestly illegal, incompetent, without lawful authority and has been passed with mala fide to serve the ends of somebody else to deprive lawful owner i.e. Respondent No.4 of his property; father of the petitioner is in possession of the said plot as tenant of the original and lawful owner; the registration of the criminal case against him is hardly a ground to order his arrest and detention under the Maintenance of Punjab Public Order Ordinance, 1960; the petitioner is not allowed to see his father; ex facie there is no material with respondent No.2 so as to justify the arrest and detention of the petitioner's father; the detenu is an old man and that currently no legal assistance is being provided to him. It has been prayed that while allowing this petition, the impugned order dated 19-5-2011 be struck down and respondents be directed to release the petitioner's father forthwith.
3. Conversely, the contentions of the learned A.A.-G. Are that the impugned order has been passed under the Punjab' Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960, which provides filing of a representation by a detenu before the Home Secretary to the Government of the Punjab, Home Department and that he cannot invoke the constitutional jurisdiction of this Court without availing of the said alternate remedy. According to him, the detenu was acting in a manner prejudicial to the public safety and the maintenance of public order, therefore, District Coordination Officer Lahore was justified to issue the impugned detention order.
4. Arguments heard record perused. The detenu has a remedy of filing representation before the Secretary to the Government of the Punjab, Home Department, Lahore, under the provisions of Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960. The constitutional jurisdiction of this Court is not meant to supersede and redundant the alternative remedy already provided to a person under law. The Hon' ble Supreme Court of Pakistan, did not approve invoking of the constitutional jurisdiction of this Court by abandoning or bypassing the statutory remedy without reasonable cause as held in case titled "Wealth Tax Officer v. Shaukat Afzal and others (1993 SCM R 1810). It has been held by the Full Bench of this Court in the case of Sheikh Rashid Ahmad v. D.M Rawalpindi and others (PLJ 2004 Lahore 1221 (FB), as under:- "Article 199 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 provides an extraordinary remedy to the aggrieved person of invoking the Constitutional jurisdiction of the High Court with the underlying purpose to keep the administrative and judicial authorities within the bounds of their jurisdiction. When the law provides a remedy to another authority fully competent to give relief, any indulgence to the contrary by the High Court is likely to produce a sense of distrust in those authorities and to cast an undeserved reflection on their integrity and competency and would defeat the legislative intent."
In view of the above proposition of law, it is not deemed appropriate to allow direct entertainment of the writ petition without availing the alternative remedy of preferring representation before the Secretary to Government of the Punjab, Home Department. For the reasons stated above, this petition is dismissed. The petitioner/detenu may, if so desire, prefer a representation before the Secretary to the Government of the Punjab, Home Department, Lahore, in accordance with law. If the said representation is filed, the same shall be decided within a week positively from the date of filing of the same..