MALIK ABDUL AZIZ (MEMBER).--On account of his wilful absence from duty for a total period of 134 days from 16-8-1986 to 19-8-1986 and from 22-8-1986 to 4-1-1987, Asghar Ali appellant (formerly Constable) was dismissed from service with immediate effect by the Superintendent of Police, Sheikhupura vide his impugned order dated 4-1-1987, which reads as under:-- "Constable Asghar Ali No,3 was served with a show-cause notice for the award of major punishment including dismissal. In that he while posted to District Police Lines, Sheikhupura on 16- 8-1986 went to the office of DSP/SDPO, Ferozewala to deliver an urgent letter but he failed to report back on the even date. His absence was recorded vide D.D. Report No, 30, dated 16-8-1986 and he returned back vide D.D. Entry No, 38, dated 19-8-1986 after an absence of 2 days 10 hours and 30 minutes. Subsequently, he again went to the office of DSP/SDPO, Ferozewala to serve a letter on 22- 8-1986, but he failed to turn up till now. His absence was recorded vide D. D. Report No,67, dated 22- 8-1986.
2. A special Constable was deputed for the service of show-cause notice at his given home address and a copy of the same was delivered to his brother Muhammad Aslam and obtained his signature on the second copy of the same on 19-9-1986. In reply to the show-cause notice, he sent an application stating that he was ill and cannot resume duty. He also enclosed certificates issued by Dr. Asif Hussain of Sangla Hill, a private practitioner that he was suffering from pain in his body and advised for bed rest. The accused Constable failed to appear in person to justify his contention. Moreover, if he was really ill he was required to adopt proper course to get himself medically examined at DHQ Hospital, Sheikhupura after getting a docket issued from English Office.
I am morally convinced that he was deliberately avoiding duty.
3. In view of the above situation the charge of continued absence is amply established, against the accused Constable. An individual of such indisciplined manners/habits is not fit for the force.
Accordingly, he is dismissed from service w,e,f, 4-1-1987 (F.N). The period of absence will be treated leave without pay.
Sd/- Superintendent of Police, Sheikhupura."
2. Against that dismissal order the appellant filed an appeal before the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Lahore Range, Lahore which was rejected vide his order dated 20-9-1987 as reproduced below:- "This is to dispose of the appeal of Ex-Constable Asghar Ali No,3 of Sheikhupura District preferred against the orders of his dismissal passed by S.P. Sheikhupura vide his office No,26-30/ST dated 4- 1-1987 on the charge that while posted to District Police Lines, Sheikhupura he was detailed on 16-8- 1986 and 22-8-1986 to deliver Dak to the office of SDPO Ferozewala, he remained absent for 2 days, 10 hours and 30 minutes for the first time and on the second he did not turn up to resume his duty till he was dismissed from service.
2. I have seen the relevant papers and also heard the appellant in person. The appellant absented himself on two occasions for a total period of 134 days without any explanation. Even prior to this he had a bad record of turning absent on 7 different occasions. He appears to be indisciplined type whose further retention in service would serve no useful purpose. The punishment awarded to him was fully justified. The appeal is, therefore, rejected.
Sd/- Jahangir Mirza, Dy. Inspector-General of Police, Lahore Range, Lahore."
3. Thereafter, the appellant filed this appeal under Section 4 of the Punjab Service Tribunals Act, 1974 before this Tribunal, assailing the above-quoted orders dated 4-1-1987 and 20-9-1987.
4. The appellant and his learned counsel have been heard at some length and the relevant record of the appeal has been carefully perused. The past service record of the appellant has also been examined. The main contentions of the learned counsel for the appellant are:-
(i) That the appellant was not given an opportunity of personal hearing by the Superintendent of Police, Sheikhupura before passing the impugned dismissal order dated 4-1-1987;
(ii) That the appellant was not given an opportunity of personal hearing by the D.I.-G. Lahore Range, Lahore before passing his impugned order dated 20-9-1987.
(iii) That the appellant had been suffering from pain of right Lumber Region throughout the period of his absence from duty in support of which he had been sending medical certificates to his superiors and as such he was not at fault.
5. Learned District Attorney has vehemently opposed the instant appeal, refuted the aforementioned contentions of the learned counsel for the appellant, and has contended that the impugned orders dated 4-1-1987 and 20-9-1987 were lawful and in order.
6. As borne out from the relevant record, the show-cause notice bearing No, 1915, dated 14th September, 1986 issued by the Superintendent of Police, Sheikhupura to the appellant was received by him through his brother Muhammad Aslam on 18-9-1986 as acknowledged by him in his written reply dated 22-9-1986 to the show-cause notice, and during hearing. In that show-cause notice the appellant was explicitly called upon by the Superintendent of Police, Sheikhupura to appear before him within 7 days of its receipt for personal hearing; but in his written reply dated 22-9-1986 the appellant declined to appear before him for personal hearing due to illness, which plea has not been established so far. We are therefore convinced that the appellant wilfully did not care to appear before the Superintendent of Police, Sheikhupura for personal hearing with the sole aim of making capital out of it in the appellate forums. In the circumstances, this main contention of the appellant's counsel being devoid of any substance fails.
7. It is explicitly mentioned in the impugned order dated 20-9-1987 of the D.I.-G. Lahore Range, Lahore that the appellant was heard in person by him. The appellant has himself admitted today that he was given a personal hearing by the D.I.-G. Lahore Range, Lahore before passing the impugned order dated 20-9-1987. As such even this second contention of the appellant's counsel also fails.
8. According to the appellant's counsel, the appellant had been suffering from pain of right Lumber region throughout 134 days of his absence from duty, but he has failed to establish this plea by means of any evidence. He has also failed to prove that the acclaimed pain of right Lumber region of the appellant was so severe, acute and perpetual as to completely incapacitate the appellant and render him unable to appear even once throughout 134 days of his absence from duty before the Superintendent of Police, Sheikhupura or any other of his superiors just to intimate/explain to them his position/condition. Moreover, being posted in the District Police Lines, Sheikhupura, in case of his sudden illness the appellant was normally expected to get his treatment from the District Police Lines' Doctor or from the District Headquarters Hospital, Sheikhupura; and if ever any specialised treatment was required he ought to have gone to Mayo Hospital or Services Hospital, Lahore, but he did not visit any of these hospitals for treatment. Instead he wilfully absented himself from duty for 134 days; and went to Sangla Hill and then to Faisalabad - which were farther away from Sheikhupura and Lahore - to seek treatment from private practitioners. With pain of right Lumber region if he could travel from Sheikhupura to Sangla Hill to Faisalabad, then he could certainly come back to Sheikhupura to explain his condition to the Superintendent of Police, Sheikhupura but he did not adopt that right course. As such that abnormal and dubious conduct of the appellant shows that his claim of illness is merely a farce planned to cover up his prolonged wilful absence from duty. In the circumstances plea of the appellant regarding his illness appears to be devoid of any truth.
9. As per relevant record the appellant submitted his first medical certificate on 19-9-1986 which was issued by a private practitioner named Dr. Asif of Sangla Hill advising him rest for two days only w,e,f, 19-9-1986 on account of pain in right Lumber region. Thereafter he submitted a second medical certificate issued by the same private practitioner of Sangla Hill advising him rest for another fortnight. And thereafter no other medical certificate was ever submitted by him upto his dismissal on 4-1-1987 to his parent Department to justify his prolonged wilful absence from duty.
Those two medical certificates were not accepted by his parent Department as valid and genuine.
In this regard the Superintendent of Police, Sheikhupura made the following observation in his impugned order dated 4-1-1987:- "In reply to the show-cause notice, he (appellant) sent an application stating that he was ill and cannot resume duty. He also enclosed certificates issued by Dr. Asif Husain of Sangla Hill, a private practitioner that he was suffering from pain in his body and advised for bed rest. The accused Constable failed to appear in person to justify his contention. Moreover, if he was really ill he was required to adopt proper course to get himself medically examined at DHQ Hospital, Sheikhupura after getting a docket issued from English Office. I am morally convinced that he was deliberately avoiding duty."
In the circumstances the above-mentioned two medical certificates submitted by the appellant to his parent Department upto the time of his dismissal on 4-1-1987, to justify his wilful absence from duty for 134 days, were rightly rejected by the Superintendent of Police, Sheikhupura, vide his impugned order dated 4-1-1987; and that finding/decision of S.P. Sheikhupura cannot be brushed aside just arbitrarily, particularly, in the absence of any evidence adduced by the appellant to the contrary.
10. The appellant has appended with his instant appeal a photo copy of a medical certificate issued by P.M.C. Hospital, Faisalabad, according to which he was admitted in that Hospital on 21-8- 1986 as a patient of pain in right Lumber region and discharged on 25-8-1986; and was advised complete bed rest for 10 days w,e,f, 26-8-1986 to 4-9-1986. This certificate was never submitted by the appellant to the S.P. Sheikhupura or D.I.-G., Lahore Range, Lahore. According to his service record the appellant remained physically present in the District Police Lines, Sheikhupura on 21-8- 1986; but according to the aforementioned medical certificate, on the same day he remained admitted in P.M.C. Hospital Faisalabad. In the circumstances this medical certificate appended by the appellant with his instant appeal is patently bogus and had been obviously procured by him falsely just to justify his wilful absence from duty. With his instant appeal the appellant has appended a photo copy of another medical certificate issued by some private Practitioner named Dr.Khalid Saleem indicating that the appellant had been suffering from another disease i,e,, `PNEUMONITIS' during the period from 10-12-1986 to 4-1-1987. This medical certificate was also never submitted by the appellant either to the Superintendent of Police, Sheikhupura or the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Lahore Range, Lahore. Had this medical certificate been genuine the appellant would have definitely submitted it to the S.P. Sheikhupura or the D.I.-G. Lahore Range, Lahore during his personal hearing but he never did so. That being so, in the peculiar circumstances of the instant case, no legal sanctity can be attached even to this medical certificate. Thus both these medical certificates appended by the appellant with his present appeal were bogus and had been procured by him falsely at a belated stage just to cover up and 'justify his prolonged wilful absence from duty. Obviously these two medical certificates are of little advantage to the appellant.
11. In view of the above discourse we find absolutely no ground to entertain the false plea of illness raised by the appellant's counsel during his arguments to justify appellant's wilful absence from duty for 134 days.
12. Having heard the parties at some length, and after scrutiny of the relevant record as well as the past service record of the appellant we find that the appellant's counsel has failed to establish any of his contentions mentioned in para 4 above by means of any convincing and authentic oral or documentary evidence. He has also failed to bring out and establish any irregularity factual or legal - in the impugned orders dated 4-1-1987 and 20-9-1987 of the Superintendent of Police, Sheikhupua and D.I.-G. Lahore Range, Lahore respectively. And the charge of wilful absence from duty for a period of 134 days against the appellant stands unrebutted and fully proved from the relevant record. The appellant has got a chequered service record bearing as many as seven punishments awarded mostly for his wilful absence from duty. Consequently the impugned orders dated 4-1-1987 and 20-9-1987 are not exceptionable either on facts or on law.
13. Resultantly, finding no cogent ground to interfere with the impugned orders dated 4-1-1987 and 20-9-1987 of the S.P. Sheikhupura and the D.I.-G. Lahore Range, Lahore respectively, the instant appeal stands dismissed, with no order as to costs.