1. ' MUSHTAK ALI KAZI (CHAIRMAN).-The appellant joined the Police Department as Foot Constable and rose to be Deputy Superintendent of Police in grade-17. By an order dated 14th November, 1977 he was placed under suspension and a show-cause notice dated 21st November, 1977 was issued to him by the Inspector-General of Police of Sind as the Authorized Officer. It was stated in the notice that he had suppressed the murder of Ayoob, son of Qasim Korai committed by the Police at his instance in the jurisdiction of Kazi Ahmed Police Station Nawabshah district, destroyed the evidence of the case and got registered a false case by F. I. R. No, 35 of 1977 under sections 307, 353, P. P. C, of an encounter with police and concocted false evidence to cover up the said murder. That he having abused his official position by tempering with the evidence had been found liable for offences under sections 302, 34/120 (b), P. P. C. For which the crime branch had got a case registered against him at the Kazi Ahmed Police Station.
2. ' In reply to the show-cause notice the appellant stated that on 6th April, 1977 as Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Moro he had detailed police party beaded by S. I. Walidad Khan to arrest absconder Ayoob Korai. He was then informed that encounter has taken place in which Ayoob Korai had been killed along the National Highway link road.
3. ' He, therefore, instructed the Sub-Inspector to register case under sections 307, 353, P. P. C. That Ayoob Korai was not taken by Moro Police and then shot by the police party but he was killed in an encounter with the police. That Mst. Darya Khatoon mother of deceased Ayoob Korai had lodged the false complaint of murder and afterwards in her affidavit before the Additional City Magistrate she had denied having lodged that report of a murder of her son at Kazi Ahmed Police Station.
4. ' The explanation of the appellant was considered and by an order dated 18th September, 1979 Secretary to Government of Sind, Home Department with the approval of the Chief Secretary dismissed the appellant from service with effect from 1st July, 1979.
5. ' The case of the appellant is that regarding the F. I. R. Registered by Mst. Darya Khatoon mother of Ayoob Korai, the Additional City Magistrate, Moro sent his report to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, that investigation made by the crime branch was based on vague evidence and no case for issue of `B' summary, showing the case to be false, had been produced. He accordingly recommended that 'A' summary be issued showing that the case was neither true nor false but there was no evidence in support of it.
6. ' The learned counsel for the appellant has then argued that the Sessions case pending in the Court of 2nd Additional Sessioni Judge, Nawabshah against the appellant and others for murder of Ayoob Korai under sections 302 read with 149, P. P. C. Has since been decided and the Additional Sessions Judge has granted the application of the appellant under section 265 (K), Cr. P. C. And acquitted the accused without recording even statement of the accused, because there was no evidence to connect the accused with the murder of Ayoob Korai.
7. ' It may be pointed out in this connection that every effort appears to have been made to tamper with the evidence in both these cases and even mother of deceased Ayoob Korai who had lodged the first information report that her son had been taken out from the police lock-up and had been shot dead by the police party, had been won over and she completely resiled from the F. I. R. And denied having lodged the same with the Police. The evidence of Ayoob Korai having been killed by the firing squad, would be of the Police Officers themselves and it could not be expected that they would come and depose in respect of this murder and thereby implicate themselves. It was accordingly stated in the report by the Additional City Magistrate that the version of the prosecution was not borne out from the record and the witnesses had tried to support the counter version of an encounter with the Police.
8. ' However men may lie but circumstances do not lie. If Ayoob Korai had been killed in an encounter at the link road of the Highway, then it would be possible that he may have received one or two bullet wounds shot from a distance. On the other hand if he had been killed by a firing squad there will be number of bullet wounds from a short range. The post-mortem report would, therefore, decide how Ayoob Korai had been killed. A copy of the report was obtained and so also the evidence of Doctor Jamilur Rehman. The evidence show that there were the following injuries found on the dead body of Ayoob Korai :
(1) One lacerated gunshot wound of entrance 1" x 3' x muscle deep on the major aspect of posterior part of left thigh.
(2) One lacerated gunshot exit wound 4' x 2 " x muscle deep communicating with injury No, 1.
(3) One lacerated gunshot wound of entrance x muscle deep on the front of right leg laterally.
(4) One gunshot lacerated wound of entrance with charring of the marains on the medial surface of right side la" x x muscle deep in the middle.
(5) One lacerated gunshot wound of entrance with charring of the margins 4" x ,i" x lune cavity deep on the front of left chest over precordium with fracture of the 5th rib directing to the right and backward.
(6) One lacerated gunshot wound of exit 1 2' x lung cavity deep on the right chest lower part communicated with injury No, 5.
(7) One lacerated gunshot wound of entrance with charring of the margings in diameter into cavity deep on the front of left chest 24" medial to left nipple, with fracture of the 2nd rib near its junction with the sternum.
(8) One lacerated gunshot wound of exit 1 1/2 ' x 1" x lung cavity deep on the back of right chest 3' below the right scapula with fracture of 8th rib. This injury is communicated with injury No, 7.
(9) One lacerated gunshot wound of entrance 2 1/2," x 11." x muscle deep on the back of left forearm medially on the upper part.
(10) One lacerated gunshot of exit 2 1/2:" x 1" x muscle deep on the back of left forearm l 1/2." above the injury No, 9 and also communicated with injury No, 9.
9. ' Out of these 10 injuries 6 of wounds were entrance injuries while remaining 4 wounds were of exit.
10. There was charring of the margins establishing the fact that the rifle shots had been fired from a very close range of about 6 to 10 feet. Most of the wounds were on the front of the chest or on the sides but none was on the back. The evidence unmistakable points to the murder having been committed by a firing squad or in any case it does not exclude this possibility.
11. ' The judgment in the Sessions case against appellant Mir Muhammad would show that the F. I. R.
12. Of the case was not recorded by the police in a proper way and the evidence of Mst. Darya Khatoon and P. W. Qasim and Suleman was not reliable. That the report of Mst. Darya Khatoon had been recorded on white paper and not in the 154, Cr. P. C. Book. That the report had been transcribed in the F.
1. R. Book later on and therefore, the investigation of the Police was illegal from its commencement.
13. ' It is not for the Tribunal to offer any comments on the report of the Additional City Magistrate or the judgment of the learned Sessions Judge. The Inspector-General of Police is, however supposed to know the actual facts resulting in death of Ayoob Korai. There is no reason why the Police Department should prosecute their 'Police Officers on a charge of murder. As held in Shafqat Mahmood Lodhi v. Pakistan (I), the object of initiating disciplinary proceedings against a public servant is to maintain purity of public service and not to punish an erring civil servant.
14. Departmental action can follow or precede result in a criminal case. Principles of autrefois acquit or res judicata has no application in such a case. The object of instituting disciplinary proceedings is to purify administration. The object of criminal proceedings is to punish a wrong. One cannot exclude the other. The evidence required for proving a criminal case would be different from considerations requiring dismissal of a public servant. It has been stated at the bar that the appellant had been convicted for a minor offence by the Sessions Court in a similar well known her murder case. In that case to the theory of the encounter of the police was found to be incorrect and the public servants involved including the appellant were convicted for the murder of the Hurs.
15. However that case has no connection with the decision of the appeal in the present case but on account of the decision in the murder case of Ayoob Korai recorded by the Sessions Court the action taken in the departmental proceedings need not necessarily be reversed. The order of the Home Secretary is accordingly maintained and the appeal is dismissed. No order is made as to costs. {{FOOT NOTE}}
(I) PLD 1968 Lah. 786 {{FOOT NOTE}}