ISLAMABAD: (APP) The Supreme Court Friday issued its detailed verdict regarding out of turn promotions in Punjab Police and directed the Inspector General Police Punjab to demote these officers and submit implementation report in 10 days.

Justice, Amir Hani Muslim authored the 14 page judgment and remarked that listed Applications and Criminal Original Petitions are disposed of in the terms that the view point of the Inspector General of Police, Punjab is correct and the officers shall be de-notified in terms of the speaking orders passed by the Inspector General of Police, Punjab.

The court order stated that before departing with this judgment the bench once again reiterate that the Police is a disciplined force and officials/officers employed there should not embark upon unnecessary litigation such as claiming out of turn promotions.

If, however, they have a genuine grievance, the same should be taken before the forums that the law provides instead of initiating proceedings before the High Court under Article 199 of the Constitution.

Not a single one of the judgments, on which reliance is placed by the counsel who represent the said police officials/officers, have discussed how jurisdiction was assumed in a matter which the Constitution clearly does not permit or how the constitutional bar contained in Article 212 was overcome.

The order further stated that it should also not be lost sight of that the competent authority/the IG had decided not to grant out of turn promotion to the officials/officers who then went to court/tribunal. At that juncture the Government of Punjab had resisted these cases, but, had belatedly filed appeals before this Court against the orders/judgments granting out of turn promotions.

However, now before us the Home Department and the learned AG have taken a complete u-turn and support the very same out of turn promotions that were earlier opposed by them on the pretext of the judgment in the Shahid Pervaiz case. “We were not informed by the Government that a Committee headed by the Law Minister was formed to attend to the purported anomalies in our judgments. What the Committee did is also not known.

It is a matter of concern that it was not disclosed to us that the said Committee had been set up by the Government, of which we come to know from private parties.

The referred to letter of the Home Department also makes no reference to this Committee,” it added.