KARACHI, May 15: The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the deputy accountant general of Sindh to submit a report indicating reasons as to why pension and GP fund cases of pensioners and their widows are not being cleared.
Hearing a suo moto petition over the tragic death of a 70-year-old college professor Ghazi Khan Jhakrani, Supreme Court also ordered the deputy Advocate-General to submit a working plan invoked in the office of the Accountant-General particularly for dealing with cases of pension/GP fund and steps which can be taken for its implementation in future.
He was also directed to submit details of the cases of pension/GP fund which have not been cleared so far and are still pending and take all necessary steps to clear them till the next date of hearing.
SC's two-member bench, comprised Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chudhry and Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad.
The 15-day-old decomposed bodies of retired professor of Jamia Millia College Ghazi Khan Jhakrani and his 65-year-old wife were found on Dec 7, 2003, in their home in Gulshan-i-Akbar, Malir.
The couple reportedly died of starvation because of long delay in the payment of Jakhrani's pension and other dues by the Education Department.
The suo moto action was taken on an application by Haji Mohammad Ismail Memon advocate, who is also a member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
He sought a judicial probe into the incident and punishment to government officials found responsible for the injustice and for causing mental agony to the late professor till the tragic death of the couple. Earlier, in pursuance of court's directives inquiry officer district and session judge Marlir also submitted a report.
The report said Prof M S K Lodhi, Principal, Jamia Millia College Malir, was firstly responsible for not initiating pension papers one year prior to the date of retirement as provided under the rules and major role for delaying the pension papers more than three years was also on his part.
The inquiry report said he failed to take up with the appropriate authorities the non-gazetted period of late Ghazi Khan Jhakrani and failed to reconstitute the service book of said period.
He also failed to send the final GP fund papers to the competent authority, it added.
In the second finding, the inquiry report said, Muzafar Jamal, assistant accountant officer, AG Sindh, (Pay Fixation Section), was responsible for raising illegal and irrelevant observations and Mohammad Nadeem Iftikhar assistant accountant officer of the AG Sindh instead of seeking a clarification from the education secretary handed over the observation to the ailing Ghazi Khan Jakhrani.
Both these officials of the AG Sindh at time of final payment played a major role in non-payment of his legal dues.
The report said Dr Mujeeb Feroz and Haroon Rasheed, District Education Officer, Colleges, the then DO education colleges, were equally responsible for delaying the pension papers.
Prof Raees Alvi, EDO Higher Education, and education secretaries Mohammad Shareef Baloch, Nazar Hussain Mehar, Ghulam Ali Pasha were also responsible for not referring the matter to the Pension Cases Disposal Committee and they also did not take any departmental action against their subordinates on submission of pension papers very late after an expiry of three years.
AAG Sindh Sarwar Khan told the court that the Sindh Chief Secretary also constituted a committee to inquire into the matter and the recommendations of the same have also been sent to him.
The court also directed the office of the court that a copy of the inquiry report be handed to the AAG for onward transmission to the chief secretary and convening a meeting with him in order to ascertain what action he is contemplating to take in his behalf. The matter has been adjourned to May 18.—PPI
