ISLAMABAD, Feb 24: The Supreme Court on Saturday ordered the reinstatement of Punjab’s former zakat and ushr secretary, Azhar Hussain Shamim, who had been dismissed from the service in 2001 after a departmental enquiry found him guilty of a procedural irregularity.

A three-member bench of the court headed by Mr Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan and comprising Justice Khalil-ur-Rahman Ramday and Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk set aside the dismissal order of July 10, 2001, and the impugned judgment passed by the Federal Services Tribunal on Oct 16, 2003.

The appellant was represented in the court by Abid Hasan Manto advocate. The respondents, including Chief Executive (now the prime minister) and others were represented by Nasir Saeed Sheikh, Deputy Attorney-General, and Mrs Afshan Ghazanfar, Assistant Advocate-General of Punjab.

The appellant was accused of opting for selected tender inquiry, by-passing the procedure of advertised tender inquiry, without assigning any reason, in printing of booklets meant for the Food Stamp Scheme of the Punjab Government that remained operational till December 1999.

The court, which went through the entire record of the case and all purchases made during the whole period of the scheme, said the scheme had been prevalent all over Punjab and millions of people issued coupons for purchases on subsidized rates.

“In the circumstances, one can well imagine the rate of consumption of the booklets and the emergent circumstances under which the new booklets needed to be printed.”