MUHAMMAD NAEEM ANW AR, J. Through instant petition filed under Article 199 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, the petitioner seeks the following prayer: "It is, therefore, most humbly prayed that on acceptance of this writ petition, this Hon'ble Court may please to: i. issue appropriate directions to respo ndents No. 5 to 7 to close all the illegal bus terminals/ addas in the District Swat and provide peaceful atmosphere to the petitioner for running smooth business; ii. issue directions to respondent No.2 to compensate the petitioner during the closer of terminals during the period of pandemic of COVID-19 in monthly installments. Further also issue directions to compensate the petitioner for the damage/loss due to non-closing of the illegal terminals; and iii. Any other relief, which deems fit and appropriate, may also be issued in favour of petitioner ."
2. Precisely , the facts necessary for disposal of the instant petition are that respondent No.2 vide e-advertisement invited application for General Bus Stand, Khwazakhela , which was to be auctioned for one-year w.e.f. July 2021 to June, 2022. The petitioner participated in the auction proceedings and being the highest bidder , the General Bus Stand of Khwazakhela was allotted to him for the period of one year for which the term and conditions were settled through an agreement executed between the petitioner and respondent No.2. In accordance with the terms and conditions of the agreement, respondent No.2 was required to deposit the amount, as agreed by him in equal 11 instalments. Legal formalities were fulfilled and possession of the General Bus Stand of Khwazakhela was handed over to the petitioner , but it surfaced that, there are illegal bus Stands/ Addas not only in the premises of Tehsil Khwazakhela but in the entire District of Swat, for which, the petitioner submitted an application to the concerned authorities i.e., respondents. It is also reflected from the record that the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa issued notification No. SAW/HD/COVI D-19/2020/ 47 on 03.09.2021 for closure of all the illegal Bus Stands/T erminals. As the possession of the petitioner was for a specific period, as such, he requested to respondent No.2 for relief in the payment of the instalments due to loss caused by COVID-19 however , no such relief was extended to him. On one hand, no relief for closure of public transport was extended to the petitioner and on the other through running of illegal bus terminals huge loss was caused to the petitioner the petitioner hence, this petition.
3. The respondents were directed to submit their parawise comments, in response to which, respondent No.5 i.e., Assistant Commissioner Tehsil, Khwazakhela , Swat furnished his parawise commen ts, wherein it has been mentioned that a complaint was received by him in connection with illegal addas for which he alongwith Secretary Regional Transport Authority have made an inspection and found illegal traffic stands/ addas . This inspection was made on 17.09.2021. Respondent No.4 (Secretary Regional Transport Authority , Malakand Division) also furnished his parawise comments by admitting there in it as correct that on the directions of the NCOC, he issued notice to all Bus Stands holders in Malakand Division to close their Bus Stands and that the District Administration was also taken into confidence for closure of the illegal Bus Stands in Malakand Division.
4. On 02.03.2022, when this petition came up for hearing, this Court directed respondent No.6 to appear in person and on 09.03.2022, this Court received a report pertaining to thirteen illegal Bus Stands/T erminals, wherefrom eight illegal Bus Stands/T erminals were found in Tehsil Bahrain , Swat, as such, this Court appointed Barrister Dr. Adnan Khan as a local commission to visit Bus Stands/T erminals/ Addas , as reflected in the report submitted by the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) and to verify the factum of report pertaining to the seal of terminals/ addas or otherwise and to submit his report. Report was accordingly submitted and respondent No.6 was directed to appear in person in view of the earlier report of the ADC and report of learned local commission namely Barrister Dr. Adnan Khan. Respondent No.6 in response to notice appeared on 12.04.2022 before the Court and admitted it at the bar that there are illegal terminals /addas and requested for time to close all illegal terminals/ addas in the entire District Swat, as such, the proceedings were adjourned for 11.05.2022. On the date fixed, once again, the learned Additional Advocate General requested for adjournment for submission of compliance, thus, the proceedings were adjourned for today .
5. Today , learned counsel representing the petitioner while producing letter dated 13.05.2022 issued by respondent No.2 (TMO, Khwazakhela ) with the subject of "Cancellation of the Contract of General Bus Stand Khwazakhela" contended that when the respondents have admitted that there are illegal Bus Stands/ Addas in District Swat including Tehsil Khwazakhela then they were duty bound to act in accordance with law .
6. The learned A.A.G, while referring to the interim progress report, submitted at the bar that the proceedings may be adjourned till 1st of July , 2022 for necessary arrangements.
7. Arguments heard and record perused.
8. Barrister Dr Adnan, the learned local commission, in his report, has provided the details of Bus Stands/T erminals/ Addas at Tehsil Khwazakhela by explaining that stands with the names of (i) Swat Express, (ii)
Gulab Coach, (iii) Geo Swat Express, (iv) Faisal Movers; and (v) Swat Coach , are operational in Tehsil Khwazakhela , whereas he also provided the details of other Addas i.e. (i) Motorcar Stand operated by Obaid Ali with the name of Shalpin Adda (ii) Ricksh aw Stand operated by Khaista Zada in main matta Chowk, (iii). Rickshaw stand operated by Tal Hayat & Zaib Ullah Khan in main matta Chowk, (iv) Madya n Stand operated by Aziz Khan,
(v) Rickshaw and Suzuki stand operated by Habib-ur -Rehamn, (vi) Goe-2D Stand operated by Nazir , (vii) Motorcar & Flying Coach Stand operated by Nazir , (viii) Flying Coach stand operated by Aftab Ali, (ix) Gulab Coach (x) Swat Express (xi) Rickshaw Stand operated by Akhtar Ali, (xii) Flying Coach and Motorcar stand operated by Syed Ghafoor , (xiii) Pak Express operated by Malik Captain Nawaz, (xiv) Malik Travels operated by Malik Akbar , (xv)
Bahrain Travels operated by Islam and (xvi) Ghwagai Stand operated by Rahma t Ali. Leaned local Commission with the above-mentioned illegal stands/addas, pointed out that these terminals are still are operational.
9. Besides above, record reflects that a meeting was held on 04.03.2022 in connection with sealing of illegal stands in Khwazakhela under the Chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner Swat, wherein Assistant Commissioner , Khwazakhela , TOR TMA, Office Khwazakhala and Assistant R.T.A Office participated and on 08.03.2022 the minutes were signed by the Deputy Commissioner , Swat with the following decision: "After detail discussion, it was decide d that on Monday (07.3.2022), the TMA Khwazakhela, Secretary RTA and Assistant Commissioner Khwazakhela shall carry raid in Khwazakhela and seal all illegal stands before 09.03.2022 i.e. the date fixed in Peshawar High Court Mingora Bench /Darul Qaza, Swat and share progress report with this office accordingly ."
10. The Secretary Regional Transport Authority , Malakand Division provided the lists of illegal addas sealed in Tehsil Khwazakhela and illegal sealed stands in Tehsil Bahrain, District Swat, which are reproduced here for ready reference: LIST OF ILLEGAL ADDAS SEALED IN DISTRICT SW AT TEHSIL KHW AZAKHELA Name of DistrictTehsil S.No. Name of Adda Operated by Remarks Swat Khwazakhela 1 Swat Express Iftikhar Ali Sealed 2 Gulab Coach Malk Zada Urf Gulab KhanSealed 3 Gew Swat Express Hamayoun Sealed 4 Faisal Movers Abdul Samad Sealed 5 Swat Coach Abdul Rasheed Sealed 6 Motorcar Stand Ubaid Ali Sealed 7 Rickshaw Stand Khysta Zada Sealed 8 Rickshaw Stand Ramat Ali & Taloud Khan SealedSealed 9 Madyan Stand Aziz Khan Sealed 10 Rickshaw Stand & Suzuki Stand Guli Bagh & CharbaghHabib ur Rahman Sealed 11 Gew 2D Stand Nesar Sealed 12 Motorcar stand and Flying CoachAdda Nazir Sealed 13 Flying Coach Stand Khwazakhela to MingoraAftab Ali Sealed LIST OF ILLEGAL SEALED ST ANDS IN TEHSIL BAHRAIN, DISTRICT SW AT S No.Name of Stand Local Owner name Remarks 1 Gulab Coach Madyan Swat Maya Syed Sealed 2 Swat Express Madyan Swat Bacha Khan Sealed 3 Rickshaw Stand Madyan Swat Akhter Ali Sealed 4 Flying Coach & motorcar StandsMadyan Swat Syed Ghafoor Sealed 5 Pak Express Bahrain Swat Malik Captain NawazSealed 6 Malik Travels Bahrain Swat Malik Akbar Sealed 7 Bahrain Travels Bahrain Swat Islam Ustad Sealed 8 Ghawagai Stand Bahrain Swat Rehmat Ali Sealed
11. Today , through interim progress repor t, this Court was apprised by the respondents that there are certain illegal Bus Stands/T erminals/ Addas , for which, the authority has planned that minimum two D-Class adda license shall be issued to adda handlers i.e., one Besham/Shangla road and another on Matta/Kalam Road. It was further submitted that this will not only eliminate the existence of illegal stands/ addas but would also reduce traffic congestion in Khwazakhela Bazar and with this interim progress report, time was sought by respondents for complete closure of illegal stands/ addas . Not only the petitioner has pointed out the existence of illegal stands/ addas , which are operational in Tehsil Khwazakhela , wherein respondent No.2 has auctioned the disputed General Bus Stand of Khwazakhela to the petitioner but apart from the one, which was legally allotted to the petitioner other illegal stands/ addas are also operational in Khwazakhela . This fact was further authenticated by the report of the local commission Barrister Dr. Adnan Khan and the respondents, while appearing before the Court, also admitted it at the bar .
12. Be that as it may, effective administration with implementation of the Government policy is backbone of the Government one of the important reasons is the practical concern that the Government today has to work towards the public interest. The first and foremost object of public administration is to efficiently deliver public services.
District and sub-divisional administration have a special status in implementing the policies of the Government. Law requires that District administration to be organized and effectively operated for increasing productivity quickly .
These aspects have given birth to the new sub-discipline of development administration. When the respondents could not maintain the elimination/closure of illegal stands/ addas , which on one hand is their duty, requirement of law and on the other hand was the right of citizen. Law has provided a mechanism for bus terminals/ stands and for its smooth implementation regional transport authority plays an effective role and any failure in implementation of law amounts to negligence/ mal administration on their part which may raise questions because public functionaries are expected to perform their duties well within the prescribed limits of the law of the land. It is well settled law that when a thing is required to be done in a particular manner it must be made in that manner and not otherwise. In this respect, reliance can be placed on the principle enunciated in cases titled "Qamar Javed vs. Gul Jahan" (2005 MLD 1329 ), "Syed Bashir Hussain vs. Abdul Waheed' (2013 MLD 1675 ), "SNGPL VS. OGRA"
(PLD 2013 Lahore 289), "Cantonment Board Clifton vs. Sultan Ahmad Siddique" (2016 CLC 919), "Muhammad Akram Javid vs. Bashir Ahmad Soauk" (2016 CLC 1751 ), "Hassan Bakhsh vs. Sultan" (2016 MLD 1157). "Ajmir Shah, Ex-Sepoy vs. the Inspector General, Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and another" (2020 SCMR 2129 )."Muhammad Hanif Abbasi v. Imran Khan Niazi" (PLD 2018 SC 189), "Shahida Bibi v. Habib Bank Limited" (PLD 2016 SC 995) and Human Rights Cases Nos.4668 of 2006 and others (PLD 2010 SC 759 )."
13. It is pertinent to mention here that the petitioner has not pressed instant petition to the extent of prayers available at Serial No. i & ii rather he is seeking directions to respondents No. 5 to 7 to close all the illegal Bus terminals/ Addas in District Swat and to prove a peaceful atmosphere to him and all others who for running smooth business. The prayer of the petitioner is in consonance with law, he at the time of institution of the instant petition was the allottee of the General Bus Stand of Khwazakhela , for which, a contract was signed by him with respondent No.2. Though, the petitioner today has submitted a letter regarding cancellation of the contract but neither there is any particular prayer in the instant petition nor this relief was sought by him because the violation of terms and conditions of the agreement signed by the petitioner and respondent No.2 shall be settled in accordance with the agreed terms and conditions. Neither the same is in question nor respondent No.2 has denied from it, as such, cancellation of contract of General Bus Stand Khwazakhela by respondent No.2 shall be dealt with in accordance with law and the petitioner may seek his appropriate remedy from the quarter concerned.
14. Insofar as the duties of functionaries of the Government/ respondents are concerned, they are bound to act in accordance with law by not allowing anyone to do as per his desire and wish To maintain the law and order situation and to implement the policies of the Government is the duty of the respondents, as such the respondents are directed to close all the illegal Stands/T erminals/ addas in the entire District of Swat, within a period of one month and compliance report in this respect be submitted to the learned Additional Registrar of this Court by respondent No.4 i.e. Secretary Regional Transport Authority , Malakand Division, TMA and Deputy Commissioner , failure of which would be dealt with in consonance with Contempt of Court Ordinance, 2003. Office shall immediately send the copy of this order to all concerned for compliance.