KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has directed the inspector general of police (IGP) to form a high-powered committee to scrutinise the domiciles and permanent residence certificates (PRCs) of all constables appointed in the police department over the last 10 years.

A two-judge constitutional bench headed by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha gave five months to the committee to complete the exercise.

It stated that the committee, to be headed by the IGP, would also ascertain whether the rule that required candidates to be permanent residents of Sindh for a period of three years before applying for government jobs was followed or not.

The court ordered action against anyone found to have obtained the domiciles and PRCs through fraudulent documentation or by concealing facts and in violation of relevant rules.

The bench issued these directives while deciding the petition of a candidate, Muhammad Awais, who asked the court to order authorities to issue his appointment order as a constable in the Sindh police.

Bench asks IGP to set up committee and examine credentials of all those hired over last 10 years within five months

The petitioner submitted that he had successfully completed the recruitment process for the post of constable in the Special Protection Unit, but he was not issued an appointment order because of an objection on his “double domicile”.

He said that he also possessed a Punjab domicile but he got it cancelled and filed documentary proof to the Sindh police.

The bench in its judgement pointed out that the key issue in the subject matter was a letter of the police department issued in March last year listing the petitioner among 203 candidates whose appointment orders were withheld for being a “double domicile holder”.

It noted that the petitioner, who was provisionally selected, had admitted that he had possessed two domiciles — one issued from Punjab (Toba Tek Singh) and another from Sindh’s Malir district — when he applied for the constable post.

“Primarily, the post of police constable was/is a Sindh-domicile-only position and having two domiciles simultaneously at the time of initiation of recruitment process is considered wrong and violates the fundamental principle that a person can only possess one domicile at a time under law,” the bench remarked.

It observed that the requirement for a PRC in Sindh was more stringent than other provinces particularly for local jobs and quotas and the same was governed by the Sindh Permanent Residence Certificate Rules, 1971.

“For applicants not born in Sindh, eligibility requires three years of residence in Sindh by the applicant’s parents (if parents are domiciled in Sindh); or the applicant must have resided or been educated in Sindh for a period of not less than three years (if parents are not domiciled in Sindh, but the applicant is),” it added.

The bench was of the view that the Sindh government may have the right to appoint bona fide residents of the province and it was also an established principle that the domicile declared by a government servant and accepted by the government at the time of his/her entry into government service was treated as final throughout his/her service career and “no subsequent change in domicile was recognised for service purposes”.

“However, if a person lives in a particular province or district and decides to shift to another province to be a permanent resident there, then it will not affect the status of his/her domicile; however, his/her former PRC will be cancelled. The petitioner deliberately obtained a Sindh (Malir, Karachi) domicile and qualified for the post,” it said.

The bench added that before the offer letter was issued, the police authorities during scrutiny raised an objection on his double domicile certificates (Sindh and Punjab). “The critical issue is the timing; although the petitioner possessed a Sindh domicile, he failed to get his Punjab domicile cancelled in time,” it added.

The bench ordered the IGP to constitute a high-powered committee to scrutinise the domiciles/PRCs of all police constables appointed in the Sindh Police over the last 10 years.

“If any police constable is found to have obtained the Domicile/PRC through fraudulent documentation or by concealing facts at the relevant time, or in violation of the Police recruitment rules, the Sindh Civil Servants APT Rules, 1974, and the Sindh Permanent Residence Certificate Rules, 1971, appropriate proceedings shall be initiated after due process,” it said.

The bench also directed the IGP to specifically examine the petitioner’s case within three weeks to determine if his candidature, despite the delay in cancellation, falls within the ambit of the relevant rules and regulations.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2025