1. ' MUSHTAK ALI KAZI (CHAIRMAN).-The appellant a Sub-Registrar posted at Karachi had illegally registered a sale deed in respect of property situated beyond his territorial jurisdiction. This property belonged to Government and could not be made a subject matter of private sale. The documents were also alleged to have been registered after office hours and the whole transaction was considered to be dishonest. The Additional Commissioner, Karachi as the Enquiry Officer submitted his report to the Commissioner as Inspector-General of Registration and the Authority.
2. The Authority ordered dismissal of the appellant on 4th November, 1975. The departmental appeal preferred before the Member, Board of Revenue, Sind was dismissed by order dated 2nd February, 1977 and the finding regarding registration of property not within the territorial jurisdiction of the appellant was upheld. The appellant then preferred statutory appeal before the Service Tribunal Karachi but the same was dismissed on facts and merits. The appellant then preferred an appeal before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court observed that there is no reason to differ from the view of the Tribunal on factual aspect of the case but a legal objection was raised before the Supreme Court regarding competency of the Commissioner and Inspector-General of Registration, Karachi to act as the Authority and order dismissal of the appellant.
3. ' It was argued that pursuant to the notification dated 19th October, 1973 issued under rule 2(2) of the Sind Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 1973, the Commissioner had acted as the Authority but rule 2(2) had been repealed and re-enacted and instead of the Government the Chief Minister, or any officer or Authority designated by him; had to exercise the powers of the Authority, and since the Chief Minister had not designated the 'Authority' in terms of the amendment, this power could not be exercised by the Commissioner. The matter was accordingly remanded by the Supreme Court to this Tribunal to consider the question and give a finding on it since no such plea was urged before the Tribunal When the appeal was argued before it.
4. ' Rule 2(2) of the Sind Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 1973 originally stood as under :- "(2) Authority Means the Government or any Officer or Authority designated by it to exercise the Powers of the Authority under these rules."
5. ' This subsection was repealed and substituted by a new subsection which reads as under :- "(2) Authority means the Chief Minister or any Officer or Authority designated by him to exercise the powers of the Authority under these rules."
6. ' Thus the only change that was made was, that the term "Government" was substituted by the term "Chief Minister". Under the Sind Government Rules of Business, rule 17(3) "any order passed by a Minister or any authority to whom the Minister has delegated his powers to pass such order, in respect of any subject or matter allocated to the department in the charge of such Minister, with or without approval of the Chief Minister as provided in these rules, shall be deemed to be the order passed by the Government." Again under rule 6(4) "any order passed by the Chief Minister or any authority to whom the Chief Minister has delegated such powers to pass such order, in respect of any subject or matter allocated to the department in the charge of the Chief Minister, shall be deemed to be the order passed by the Government." The reason for this amendment, therefore, becomes obvious. The object behind this amendment was that these powers of designating the Authority were to be .Exercised by the Chief Minister alone and not by any other Minister incharge of a department. Before this amendment a notification had been issued by the Government of Sind in Service and General Administration Department dated 19th October, 1973 which reads as under :- "In pursuance of the provisions contained in sub-rule (2) of rule 2 of the Sind Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 1973, the Government of Sind are pleased to designate the Officer competent to appoint any civil servant to be the Authority for such civil servant for the purposes of the said rules."
7. ' The above notification had been issued by the Services and General Administration Department which was department incharge of the Chief Minister. Before the issue of notification a summary had been placed before the Chief Minister under the signature of Mr. A. R. Bashir, Chief Secretary to Government of Sind for approval of the Chief Minister. The summary for the Chief Minister reads as under : "(1) The Sind Civil Service (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 1973 were notified on 8th September, 1973. The terms "authority" and "authorized officer" have been as under :- "Authority" means the Government or an officer or authority designated by it to exercise the powers of the authority under these rules ; "Authorized Officer" means an officer authorized by the authority to perform functions of an authorized officer under these rules
(2) For the successful implementation of these rules, it is necessary to notify different officers as "the authority" and as "authorized officer" in respect of various civil servants.
(3) Hence it is proposed to notify all appointing authorities as the "authority" under these rules. Thus any officer, who is competent to appoint a civil servant will be competent to impose on him any major punishment.
(4) For initiating action the Chief Secretary will be "the authorized officer" in respect of the following categories of officers
(a) Heads of Attached Departments and holders of appointments, normally held by them.
(b) Heads of Regional offices and holders of appointments normally held by them.
8. Holders of appointments in the Provincial Secretariat of and above the rank of Section Officers.
(d) Police Officers of and above the rank of Superintendent of Police.
(e) Officers of and above the rank of Deputy Commissioner and holders of appointments normally held by them.
(f) D & S Judges and Additional District and Sessions Judges and holders of appointments normally held by them,
(g) Assistant Commissioners and City Magistrates, and holders of appointments normally held by them.
9. ' Secretary of the department concerned will be the "authorized officer" in respect of all officers other than those mentioned in the above paragraph and whose appointing authority is the Government. For the rest of the civil servants an officer one rank below the appointing authority will be the "authorized officer."
(6) The two notifications embodying the above proposals have been vested by the Law Department and are placed at Flags 'A' and '13'.
(7) Submitted to the Chief Minister for approval before issuance of the notification.
10. (A. R. BASHIR)
11. ' Chief Secretary to the Government of Sind".
12. This summary was approved by the Chief Minister on 16th October, 1973 and thereafter, the notification dated 19th October, 1973 was issued.
13. ' After the amendment of rule 2, sub-rule (2) substituting Chief Minister for the word "Government" no fresh notification had been issued and the notification dated 19th October, 1973 continued to remain in force. Under section 24 of the General Clauses Act, 1897, whenever the Act is replaced and reenacted a notification under the Repealed Act is regarded as a notification under the Act in which the provisions of Repealed Act are re-enacted. (PLD 1958 Lah. 82). A notification issued under the repealed enactment would be deemed to have been passed under the co-responding re-enacted provisions until or unless it is superseded (1931 Cal. 481 I C 577). Section 24 of the Central General Clauses Act reads as under :- "24. Where any Central Act or Regulation is, after the commencement of this Act, repealed and re- enacted with or without modification, then, unless it is otherwise expressly provided, any appointment, notification, order, scheme, rule, form or bye-law made or issued under the repealed Act or Regulation, shall, so far as it is not inconsistent with the provisions re-enacted, continue in force, and be deemed to have been made or issued under the provisions so re-enacted, unless and until it is superseded by any appointment, notification, order, scheme, rule, form or byelaw made or issued under the provisions so re-enacted and when any Central Act or Regulation, which by a notification under section 5 or 5-A of the Scheduled Districts Act, 1874, or any like law, has been extended to any local area, has by asubsequent notification, been drawn from and re-extended to such area or any part thereof, the provisions of such Act or Regulations shall be deemed to have been repealed and re-enacted in such area or part within the meaning of this section."
14. ' The corresponding section 23 of the West Pakistan General Clauses Act, 1956 is also reproduced as the same would be applicable in case of provincial Enactment :-
23. "Where any West Pakistan Act, is repealed and re-enacted with or without modification, then, unless it is otherwise expressly provided, any appointment, notification, order, scheme, rule, form or bye-law made or issued under the repealed Act, shall so far as it is not inconsistent with the provisions re-enacted continue in force, and be deemed to have been made or issued under the provisions so re-enacted unless or until it is superseded by any appointment, notification, order, scheme, rule, form or bye-law made or issued under the provisions so re-enacted."
15. Thus the notification issued under rule 2(2) would continue to apply I the absence of a fresh notification superseding it, the only exception being that it should not be inconsistent with the amended rule. In the present case there is no inconsistency as the notification had been issued under the orders of the Chief Minister and not under orders of any other Minister. Even otherwise under Article 129 of the Constitution the executive authority of the Province is exercised in the name of the Governor by the Provincial Government, consisting of the Chief Minister and Provincial Minister acting through the Chief Minister. There is collective responsibility of the Chief Minister and the Provincial Ministers. Since the Governor under Article 105 is bound to act on the advice of the Chief Minister the orders of the Government would in fact be the orders of the Chief Minister.
16. ' In the present case the appellant as Sub-Registrar was posted in graded. Under the Sind Civil Servants (Appointment, Promotion and Transfer) Rules,-1974, the Authority competent to make appointment to grade-9 has been shown as Head of Office in grade-19 or above or Regional Head or Head of the Attached Department, therefore, the Commissioner as the Inspector-General of Registration for Karachi Division was competent to appoint the Sub-Registrar and could act as the Authority under the Efficiency and Discipline Rules, 1973. The notification dated 19th October, 1973 is being followed in all cases under the Efficiency and Discipline Rules till this day and the notification has not been superseded by any other notification issued by the then Chief Minister. Under these circumstances the power exercised by the Commissioner and the Authority would appear to have been validly exercised and could not be called in question. The question preferred is decided accordingly and the appeal is dismissed with no order as to costs.