The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday rejected the Punjab government’s appeal for action against a government employee under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (PEEDA) Act, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The SC issued a five-page detailed judgment written by Justice Musarrat Hilali which stated that departmental action against a government employee can be taken within two years of retirement.

“Muhammad Afzal Anjum was posted as a chief engineer in Rawal Dam Division Islamabad. The Irrigation Department issued him a show cause notice after three years of retirement,” it added.

“Allegations of misconduct and corruption were levelled against him. The inquiry committee recommended that Rs5.5 million should be recovered from the pension of the executive engineer. The service tribunal annulled the departmental order in February 2022 and ordered payment of pension and all benefits to the employee,” it stated.

“The question before the court was whether departmental action can be taken after more than three years of retirement. Under Section 21 of the PEEDA Act, 2006, departmental action can be taken within two years of the employee’s retirement,” it declared.

“The SC has decided that the purpose of the PEEDA Act is to achieve the goal of good governance and self-accountability among public servants. This law deals with departmental action against those employees against whom the action is taken within one year of retirement,” he remarked.

“The aforementioned employee retired on January 10, 2017, while the departmental action against him started on February 24, 2020, on the accusation of violating the PEEDA Act, 2006,” it stated.

 

Reporter: Amanat Gishkori