LAHORE: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a Sindh government’s appeal against a Sindh High Court decision allowing Allah Dino Khowaja to continue as inspector general of police of the province.

The apex court, however, withdrew its Jan 18 order, restraining transfer of Mr Khowaja and observed that the Sindh government was entitled to make new laws conforming to modern needs and keeping in view the observations made in the high court’s impugned judgement.

The Sindh government had repealed the Police Order, 2002 and revived the Police Act, 1861 and transferred IGP Khowaja. However, some non-profit organisations challenged the act before the SHC. The court had restrained the provincial government from transferring Mr Khowaja and allowed the officer to continue as IG.

The provincial government had filed the appeal before the apex court pleading that it had been facing severe hardship in performing its constitutional obligation of maintaining law and order.

It said the SHC verdict suffered from a grave error of law in as much as the directions were also contrary to the fundamental and well-settled principle of parliamentary sovereignty.

The government’s counsel Farooq H. Naek had argued that the legislative bodies could not be prevented or restrained from performing their constitutional obligations and carrying out their mandate as exclusively conferred upon them.

He contended that preventing the provincial government from making an amendment or alternation in the rules of business caused a permanent injunction against a legislative body in respect of policy matters.

The counsel said the SHC wrongly reached a conclusion that a bare minimum tenure of “three years” to the post of IG was to be guaranteed as an obligation and the same could never be reduced.

He further submitted that the federal government’s interference in respect of appointment and removal of the provincial chief of the police violated the basic structure of the Constitution, which guaranteed provincial autonomy. He asked the court to set aside the impugned judgement of the SHC. Some other individuals had also filed appeals against the decision of the high court.

In its dismissal order, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court said, “For the reasons to be recorded later, these appeals having no merit are accordingly dismissed.”

However, the bench said the provincial government could make new legislation in light of observations and guidelines given by the Sindh High Court.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2018