Law: Standing Orders Ordinance, 1968

Section: 15(3)(i), 15(4)

 Summary The petitioner, a Bank of Khyber Officer Grade-III, challenged her removal from service after a fraud of Rs. 31.7 million was discovered in the bank. Although another employee confessed to committing the fraud alone, the petitioner was dismissed on the ground of negligence. The Islamabad High Court held that there was no evidence linking the petitioner to fraud, embezzlement, or collusion, and that a single act of negligence does not constitute "habitual negligence" under the Standing Orders Ordinance, 1968. The Court further held that dismissal was disproportionate to the misconduct proved and ordered her reinstatement with full back benefits. Tagline "A solitary act of negligence, without proof of fraud or collusion, cannot justify the major penalty of removal from service." ORDER; MUHAMMAD ASIF, J. Through the instant writ petition, the petitioner has prayed for the following relief: - That the instant petition may graciously be accepted, impugned order dated 22.02.2024 of the learned Full Bench may be set aside. And that the order dated 06.09.2023 of Single Bench NIRC which is against the observations made in the judgment of this Honourable Court dated 1620/2022 and also against the law and facts of the case, requires appropriate modifications. Accepting the grievance petition No. 4B(70)/2015 of the petitioner, the order of removal from service dated 12.08.2015 may kindly be set aside, and the petitioner may be reinstated in service with full back benefits as she has not committed any kind of misconduct. Case litigation cost since 2015 also be awarded, an affidavit to this effect is being filed very soon. As the NIRC has ignored and violated the specific and clear observations, and went beyond the clear directions of this honourable Court in Writ Petition No. 16520/2022, it requires serious interference of this Court. The case law PLD 1995 Karachi 347 and 1995 PLC 451, relied on by this Honorable Court, was also ignored. The petitioner has also suffered irreparable loss due to the act of forums below.   The facts of the case which are relevant for the disposal of the instant petition will be discussed in the later part…