' This order will dispose of C. M. 1/81 in Writ Petition No, 3628/ S-81/1981 as well as connected Civil Miscellaneous Petitions along with Writ Petitions Nos. 3629/S-81, 3630/S-81, 363l/S-81, 3632/S-81, 3634/S-81 and 3635/S-81 as all the petitions involve identical questions of law and fact.
2. The writ petition was admitted on the ground that the impugned order was without jurisdiction, inasmuch as, the Deputy Commissioner, Gujranwala passed the order, in question, in the exercise of his powers under sub-rule (2) of rule 5 (A) of the West Pakistan Local Councils and Municipal Committees (Retirement) Rules, 1966 notwithstanding that the rule, in question, stood deleted by a Notification No, LOS (Accounts Misc.) 2 (10)/74, dated 10th June, 1975.
3. Report was sent for and it is submitted in the comments furnished by the Deputy Commissioner that rule 5(a) of the said Rules was deleted as stated by the petitioner but the powers were later on restored by the Government on 21st June, 1980 vide Annexure 'A' and that the conferment of powers were further confirmed by the Government vide Circular letter of even number dated 10th September, 1980 (Annexure B) and in these circumstances, the Deputy Commissioner was fully competent under the rules to entertain the appeal of the respondent No, 2 who was retired from service on completion of 25 years of service under the relevant provisions of the Retirement Rules and that the Punjab Government vide its order dated 21st June, 1980 (Annexure A) also authorized the Deputy Commissioner to appoint such Advisory Committee as deemed proper for his assistance.
4. Be that as it may, it is conceded by the learned Additional Advocate General as well as by the learned counsel for respondent No, after perusing the record in the Court that although an opportunity of hearing was afforded to the Representative of the Municipal Committee by the Advisory Committee constituted by the Deputy Commissioner but the Deputy Commissioner himself did not provide any opportunity to bearing to the Municipal Committee before passing the impugned order and merely acted and adopted the enquiry report of the Advisory Committee. On this short ground alone, the impugned order of the Deputy Commissioner is violate of the principle of natural justice and liable to be quashed.
5. In view of the above and without prejudice to the respective contentions of the parties, the impugned order in this writ petition as well as the connected writ petitions mentioned above, is hereby quashed and the case is remanded to the Deputy Commissioner, Gujranwala for the disposal of the cases afresh, in accordance with law and after providing an adequate opportunity of being heard to all the parties concerned. The parties shall bear their own costs.