PHC issues contempt notice to IGP

 PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday issued contempt of court notice to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa inspector general of police for non-compliance with the court order about appointment of assistant sub-inspectors.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Musarrat Hilali issued the contempt of court notice to IGP, directing him to explain as to why the court’s order was not complied. During the hearing, Saadullah Khan Marwat, lawyer of the petitioner Afrasiab,  submitted that some six months ago the high court had passed a verdict and declared the provincial government decision of making the appointment of assistant sub-inspectors (ASI) through Provincial Public Commission as illegal. It had ordered the appointments through the Police Department.

The lawyer said that ASI posts were of grade-9 and the Public Service Commission was authorized to make appointment against BPS-11 and above.He said that despite the court’s decision, the KP police chief was making the appointment of ASIs through Public Service Commission and thus he had committed the contempt of court. The same bench also allowed candidates for written test of the Public Service Commission for the posts of inspectors and sub-inspectors.

It issued notice to chairman Public Service Commission and controller examination to submit reply in the case before next hearing. Muhammad Iran and 10 others candidates for the posts of inspectors and sub-inspectors in the Police Department had filed the petition through their lawyers Akbar Yousaf  Khalil and Amir Zeb Mughal.

The lawyers submitted that the petitioners along with hundreds of candidates applied for the posts and cleared the physical and endurance test. They informed the court that the Public Service Commission conducted ‘ability test’, which had not been mentioned in the advertisement for the posts and dropped majority of the candidates from the written test.

The lawyers said to conduct ability test and drop the candidates from the written was illegal and the authorities concerned wanted to disqualify the candidates for adjusting their own men on the posts. They said after dropping the majority candidates, now six candidates left for one post and thus under the law the written test also could not be held.