1996 PLP 1789 (MLD)

(e) Surprisingly enough, he in a regal fashion distributed a sum of Rs.16 lacs as ' Eidi' to his staff at Chief Minister Secretariat at 7 Club Road, GOR-I, Banquat Hall, 90 Shahra-e-Quaid-e-Azam, Lahore; Punjab Houses at Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Murree and Karachi and his own Camp Office at Mian Chunnu.

19. Now I proceed to show as to how Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, who was Chief Minister from 26-4-1993 to 18-7-1993 also left no stone unturned for his political self-projection and self-aggrandizement as it appears from the following facts:

(a) From Jehez Fund of Rs.6,45,000, he doled out Rs.3,25,000 directly to the persons of- his own liking and a sum of Rs.3,20,000 to his 16 political associates for their nominees as detailed in (Annexure XI). (b) From his discretionary grant of Rs.1,41,69,982 available to him under the Punjab Act X of 1975, he gave a sum of Rs.43,41,805 directly to certain persons of his choice for various purposes and sum of Rs.98,28,177 to certain persons through his political associates as detailed in Annexure XIV/C. (c) From Bait-Ul-Maal discretionary fund of Rs.2,65,53,185, he distributed a sum of Rs.64,01,825 directly to the persons of his own liking for various purposes and the remaining sum Rs.2,01,51,300 to his 61 political associates and some relations for their nominees as detailed in Annexure XIV-B. (d) Like his predecessor-in-office, he too distributed ' Eidi' of Rs.10 lacs from Bait-ul-Maal Fund on 30-5-1993 to various persons while celebrating Eid at Okara and Depalpur. On 19-6-1993 he again took out a sum of Rs.10 lacs from Bait-ul-Maal Fund and allegedly distributed the same to the 'poor'. He also distributed awards (Inamaat) to the tune of Rs.13,50,000 to his staff at various establishments of Chief Minister Secretariat at Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Murree and Karachi. He did not submit details of these spendings to his office. (e) The most disal5pointing thing which he did was that as against the available entertainment and gift grants of Rs.11,60,182, he spent a sum of Rs.38,75,825, thereby over-spending a sum of Rs.27,15,

643. He asked the Finance Department for the additional grant to cover up this over-spending but they did not oblige him and he himself illegally appropriated a sum of Rs.22,46,871 from the Bait-ul-Maal Fund. Despite this reappropriation, a sum of Rs.7,10,737 is still outstanding against him. (f) The hotel expenses incurred by him for the stay of his friends and political associates were Rs.3,44,

238. The break-up of this expenditure, according to the Controller, is that a sum of Rs.67,685 was paid for four-time stay of Mr. Hussain Haqqani a political associate of Mr. Wattoo in Pearl Continental, Lahore, Rs.46,971 were paid for the stay of his friend Mr. Muhammad Rafiq Chaudhry; a sum of Rs.19,293 was paid for the stay of Jaam Yousaf of Balochistan. Similarly, Shalimar Hotel, Rawalpindi, Holiday Inn, Islamabad, and Rays Hotel, Lahore, were paid Rs.45,313, Rs.81,838 and Rs.28,079 respectively for the boarding and lodging of the friends of Mr. Wattoo whose names were not disclosed to the office. (g) Out of the three Chief Minister's occupying this office after the restoration of so-called democracy, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Mr. Ghulam Haider Wyne did not spend any amount from Government money on their boarding at their respective residences. They, however, utilized entertainment grant for their office expenses which were Rs.3,155 and Rs.9,576, respectively, per day on average basis. It was only Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, who, as Chief Minister spent Government money also on his household needs such as cold drinks and other eatables, including raw material, which entailed an expenditure of xs.88,330 during his short tenure of about 82 days. His average daily expenses on entertainment in his office and at his official residence were Rs.46,140 per day. Explaining this exorbitant expenses, the Controller deposed that Mr. Wattoo, his staff, his friends and his political associate often took lunches and dinners in his office at Government expenses and he arranged big functions at Banquet Hall, 90 Shahra-e Quaid-e-Azam, Lahore. (h) Mr. Ahmad Shuja Wattoo, a brother-in-law of Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, got sanctioned from him 6 applications of different persons with a total sum of Rs.30 lacs from Bait-ul-Maal Fund. Similarly, Mr. Mazhar Ahmad Wattoo, Deputy Secretary in the Assembly's Secretariat, who is also his son-in-law. (i) Malik Haider Usman respondent, who is an Advocate from Multan and a close associate of Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, got sanctioned from him an amount of Rs.45 lacs from his statutory discretionary fund in the form of two cheques, one of Rs.30 lacs in the name of Masali Public School, Shami Block, Muzaffargarh, and the other of Rs.15 lacs in the name of Haleem Institute, 104-B Gulberg II, Lahore. From Bait ul-Maal discretionary grant Malik Haider Usman respondent got sanctioned from Mr. Wattoo a sum of Rs.50 lacs in favour of Model Welfare Association at 73-B, Model Town, Lahore which is said to be residence of Mr. S. M. Bashir respondent, an office-bearer of Mr. Wattoo's Muslim League, on the application of Mr. Jalil Sheikh for the construction of an academic institution in M. A. Johar Town, Lahore. After a few days, he, along with Sardar Nasrullah Khan Derashak, a former Provincial Minister, got sanctioned another sum of Rs.50 lacs from Mr. Wattoo in the name of Lahore Cadet School, 19-L Gulberg-III, Lahore on the application of its Principal Mr. Muhammad Afzal. Earlier on 26-6-1993 he got sanctioned from Mr. Wattoo from Bait-ul-Maal Fund the financial assistance in favour of Mr. Abdul Jabbar Qureshi, resident of outside Daulat Gate, Multan. He received cheques of all these amounts sanctioned from Bait-ul-Maal discretionary grant and alongwith Mr. S.M. Bashir respondent and Principal Muhammad Afzal got the same encashed from Punjab Bank, the Mall Branch Lahore, as detailed in the statement of its manager Mr. Muhammad Arif Bhatti. (j) Mr. Hussain Haqani, who is said to be a journalist by profession and a close political associate of Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, got sanctioned from him a sum of Rs.9 lacs from Bait-ul-Maal Discretionary Grant on the applications of three persons for starting some business: Apparently he misappropriated this amount. Such huge amounts could not be so easily doled out to ordinary persons from Lukshmi Chowk and Royal Park, Lahore.

20. Before recording my enclusions and findings in the light of various facts narrated above, I would like to elaborate the question of suo motu jurisdiction being exercised by this Bench though with the participation of Sh. Muhammad Saleem, Advocate as petitioner it does not remain to subtle and the question of discretion exerciseable by the Chief Ministers in. utilizing huge public funds from their various discretionary grants. In paragraph No.6 supra I have referred to various sources from which I derive suo motu jurisdiction to look into different acts of alleged maladministration of the three Chief Ministers of the Punjab during their respective tenures and in that connection I proceed to further dilate upon them.

21. I am conscious of the fact that till recently the Hon'ble Supreme Court has not been favouring the idea of suo motu jurisdiction but of late there has been some shift in its views. Quite recently in service matters involving large scale ad hoc and regular appointments made by high-placed political functionaries of the State in violation of the recruitment rules, the Hon'ble Court has effectively intervened in the exercise of its original jurisdiction in public interest in Human Rights Cases No. 104 (I to IV) of 1992. In these cases, there were individual applicants but the interim order, dated 19-3-1993, was all pervading, affecting a large number of persons, it was given effect by the Punjab Government S.G. and I Department's Circular Letter S.O.R.III-2-2/91 dated 31-1-1993, throughout the Punjab and many persons benefitt6d from it. To my mind, these were cases of suo motu of persons all over the country though the applicant in each case was an individual.

22. In this connection the provisions of Article 2A of the Constitution and sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Enforcement of Shariah Act can also be referred to and relied upon. It has also been held by the august Court in a recent case that where there is no law governing any subject, the vacuum shall be filled by the Muslim Common Law. Article.2A of the Constitution may not be overriding or a supra Constitutional provision but at the same it is as good a provision of the Constitution as others are. As a result of this probe, startling facts have surfaced, clearly indicating the failure of present political system, which is unworkable three-in-one (Islamic, Presidential and Parliamentary) threatening the very existence of the State in many ways. In my opinion time has come to restructure it on the Islamic or Presidential pattern which are substantially akin to each other in the sense that both visualise a directly elected head of the State, not at the mercy of mostly avaricious and exploiting elected representatives; unlike the Prime Minister in a Parliamentary system. This objective can be achieved by an evolutionary process only if we give an overriding and all pervading status to Article 2A which is the basis for the creation of Pakistan.

23. In Shariah which is now the supreme law of the country by virtue of section 3 of Enforcement of Shariah Act, 1991, except to the extent it relates to the political and economic system now in vogue (which portion thereof is against the Injunctions of Islam and has even been struck down by the Federal Shariat Court) no one how high so ever he may be is above law and the process to accountability. He is accountable even to an ordinary citizen and much more to the Judge or Qazi who has an elevated position in a Muslim State. We have before us a fomous precedent of Islamic History as to how Huzrat Umer, the' Great Caliph, as Head of the State had to explain to an ordinary citizen in an open assembly the length of the cloth by which he had got his shirt prepared which was inadequate for the shirt of the questioner who too, like him, had participated in Jehaad and got a share of cloth in Mal-e-Ghanimat like him. The time has now come when we have to follow our own, precedents instead of ad hearing to those embodying foreign concepts, after wholly irrelevant of the needs of our society and its way of life. On the same analogy, this Court as a Muslim Qazi has the suo motu. jurisdiction to ask the Chief Minister of the Punjab on the reports of the National Press, which, by virtue of the nature of its functions and duties represents the entire society, to explain as to how they have spent crores of rupees from those funds which did not legally belong to them and which were exclusively meant for the helpless, needy and down-trodden section of the society, and if they are not able to explain their expenditure plausibly then to take appropriate legal action against them so as to make it eye-opener for those who despite the poor's money in a regal fashion to oblige their friends, relations and political associates besides filling their own pockets.

24. As regards the question of discretion, the basic principle underlying it is that it has to be exercised in a reasonable and judicious manner. For spending public money, the basic principle governing it is that it has to be spent in a manner in which a prudent man would spend his own money. It inevitably takes out from it the element of arbitrariness. Here on this subject I would like to quote a beautiful, all-pervading passage from a recent judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court reported as Chairman, Regional Transport Authority, Rawalpindi v. Pakistan Mutual Insurance Company Ltd. Rawalpindi PLD 1991 SC 14: "A public official who undertakes to perform an act, even an act which is completely discretionary, must do so reasonably and in complete good faith without such delay as would frustrate its ultimate objective. One who accepts a public office does so cum owner or with the burden and is considered as accepting its burdens and obligations with its benefits. He thereby subjects himself to all Constitutional and legislative provisions relating thereto and undertakes to perform all the duties of the office, and while he remains in such office the public has the right to demand that he performs such duties. The acceptance of every public office implies an agreement on the part of the officer that he will execute his duties with diligence and fidelity. The duty of a public officer to fulfil the obligations of his office should take precedence over all other matters. Every public officer is bound to use reasonable skill and diligence in the performance of his official duties, particularly where rights of individuals may be jeopardized by his neglect. In other words, he is bound, virtue, officio, to bring to the discharge of his duties that prudence, caution, and attention which careful men usually exercise in the management of their own affairs. "

25. I have already expressed my views about the manner and the legality of three different kinds of funds which the three Chief Ministers have been utilizing, and also with regard to the Chief Minister's Statutory Fund which the first one had augmented without any limits by resorting to a legislative device by enacting Act III of 1989 to insert the words an appropriate amount in section 21 of Act X of 1975. To further support my views on the vires of that amendment and the scope of discretion exercisable by him in spending the unlimited grant I would quote the following passage from the same judgment of the Supreme Court:

"Wherever wide worded powers conferring discretion are found in a statute, them remain always the need and the desirability to structure the discretion. Structuring discretion means regularizing it, organizing it, producing order in it, so that decisions will achieve a higher quality most useful in the structuring of discretionary power are open plans, open policy statements, open rules, open findings, open reasons, open precedents and fair informal procedure. When legislative bodies delegate discretionary power without meaningful standards, administrators should develop standards at the earliest feasible time and then, as circumstances permit should further confine their own discretion through principle and rules. The movement from vague standards to definite standards to broad principles of rules may be accomplished by policy statements in any form, by adjudicatory opinions, or by exercise of the rule-making power."

26. Judged in the light of the above principles and precedents, none of the three Chief Ministers of the Punjab used his discretion and utilized the discretionary funds in a reasonable and judicious manner rather they recklessly, carelessly and arbitrarily squandered them away. In the absence of the detail of the expenditure statements for the period of Mian Nawaz Sharif, the above observations are more pertinent to the conduct of Mr. Ghulam Haider Wyne and Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, one of whom went to the extent of doling out Rs.30 lacs to his own religious institution and distributed Eidi worth lacs of rupees amongst the staff, despite having the well-known title or ' Darvaish' while the other who during his short tenure has often been publicly and even on electronic media claiming himself to be the most honest and rightist person, stooped down to despite the poor's money on his household needs and on the entertainment of his friends, relatives and political associates by regularly serving them breakfasts, lunches and dinners even in his office and hotels as a result of which his expenditure on entertainment swelled to Rs.46,000 per day, besides doling out lacs of rupees to his political associates like Malik Haider Usman, Mr. S.M. Bashir, Sardar Nasrullah Darashak, Hussain Haqani and his 8 relations Ahmed Shuja Wattoo and Mazhar Ahmad Wattoo on fake and fictitious applications. The manner he and his associates, handled the national exchequer gives reasons to believe that they were out to do something injurious even to the very existence to the State then mere misappropriation of money. Anyhow, both the Chief Ministers, as it appears from the various lists indicating the distribution of funds amongst their friends, relations and political associates (Senators, M.N.As. and M.P.As.), not only misappropriated for themselves big chunks of money but also distributed huge amounts thereof as illegal gratification to them apparently for purchasing their loyalty and support, particularly to the last category (Senators, M.N.As, and M.P.As.) who avarciously took the same as bribe, therefore, Mr. Ghulam Haider Wyne and Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo, their relations, friends and political associates, besides some official and non-official members of the Punjab Bait-ul-Maal Council, and a senior civil servant, all are liable to the following various legal actions:

(a) Director, Anti-Corruption, Punjab shall cause a case under section 409, P.P.C. and under section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 read with section 61, P.P.C. to be registered against Mr. Ghulam Haider Wyne and Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, the former Chief Ministers of the Punjab; Sardar Nasrullah Khan Derashak, a former Provincial Minister, Mian Ahmad Shujah Wattoo former Chairman, District Council, Okara; Mian Mazhar Ahmad Wattoo, Deputy C Secretary, Punjab Assembly Secretariat; Malik Haider Usman, Advocate from Multan; Mr. S.M. Bashir, resident of Model Town an office-bearer of Wattoo's Muslim League; Mr. Hussain Haqani, a journalist; Mr. Abdul Jabbar Qureshi resident of outside Daulat Gate, Multan. Mr. Jalil Sheikh, Director, Model Welfare Association, 73-D Model Town, Lahore and Mr. Muhammad Afzal, Principal, Lahore Cadet School, Gulberg-III, Lahore and after the registration of the case, serious efforts shall be made by the Investigating Officer, who shall .not be below the rank of an S.P. to recover public money misappropriated by them. He shall submit the challan within a fortnight. (b) A reference shall be made to the Election Commission of Pakistan. Islamabad, against four Senators, 41 M.N.As. and 236 M.P.As. as mentioned in the Jehez Fund lists (Annexure XI) and (Annexure XLII and againat the M.N.As. and M.P.As. mentioned in the discretionary fund/Bait-ul-Maal Fund list (Annexure XIV) which is the combined list of four lists, 2 separate lists of Mr. Ghulam Haider Wyne and 2 separate lists of Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, for taking action against them under Article 62(f) read with Article 113 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan as, in the opinion of this Court, the manner they obtained funds front the Chief Ministers was more a form of political bribe, and they do not satisfy the requirement of these provisions. of the Constitution as they themselves were its trustees. (c) Reference shall also be made against Mian Nawaz Sharif, Mr. Ghulam Haider Wyne and Mian Manzoor Wattoo in terms of. preceding clause (b) above, against the first one for illegally creating Chief Minister's Discretionary Grant (Utilization) Fund vide order notification dated 3-9-1985 and after unlawfully spending huge amounts from it, getting the same validated through a mala fide legislation (Punjab Act III of 1989); and against the last two for their various misdeeds as detailed above, especially when they, have been adjudged as liars in the recent Full Bench judgment of Lahore High Court, Lahore reported as Ch. Pervaiz Elahi v. Province of Punjab and another PLD 1993 Lah.. 595. (d) Reference shall also be made against Mian Muhammad Yaseen Wattoo former M.N.A.; Dr. Muhammad Afzal Azaz former M.P.A.; Mr. Sikander Khi1ji, former M.P.A. and Mr. S.M. Bashir under Article 113 of the Constitution for illegally transferring, alongwith other members of the Punjab Bait-ul-Maal Council in its 12th meeting, dated 12-9-1992 a sum of Rs.9,66,22,908 to the discretionary fund of the Chief Minister on the illegal demand of Mr. Ghulam Haider Wyne, who and his success desipated a major portion thereof. (e) Reference shall be made to the Secretary, Establishment Division, Islamabad, for initiating disciplinary action for misconduct under the Efficiency and Discipline Rules, 1973 against Mr. Tanvir Ahmad, Secretary Education. Mr. Tariq Saeed Haroon, Secretary Health, Mr Tariq Sultan, Secretary Finance, Ch. Muhammad Ashraf, Secretary, Social Welfare and Zakat and Mr. Muhammad Jamil, Director-General. Social Welfare, Government of the Punjab, for the first three through their representatives, and the latter two personally, having agreed as members of Punjab Bait-ul-Maal Council, alongwith certain non-official members thereof, in 12th meeting of the council for illegally transferring a sum of Rs.9,66,22,908 from Bait-ul-Maal Fund to satisfy the illegal demands of the Chief Ministers of the Punjab and enabled them to misappropriate and squander away a major portion thereof for building up their political stature. . (f) The Government of the Punjab shall

(i) on the completion of statements regarding the expenditure incurred from discretionary by Mian Nawaz Sharif during his period as Chief Minister of the Punjab and after its due scrutiny from the Audit, recover the amounts irregularly or illegally spent by him from this grant, besides the sum of Rs.2,85,050 which he obtained as loan from Mr. Wyne from Bait-ul-Maai Discretionary Grant for distribution as Eidi through Deputy Commissioner, Lahore; (ii) recover various amounts doled out of the public representatives mentioned in clause (b) above, by way of political bribe, by employing all possible coercive means; and (iii) suitably amend section 21 of the Punjab Act X of 1975 so as to remove its arbitrariness by specifying the maximum limit of discretionary grant, keeping in view the grant of the Prime Minister under the law governing him pay, allowances and privileges. (g) Reference shall be made to Secretary, Establishment Division; Islamabad for initiating disciplinary action under E & D Rules for misconduct against Mr. Moaeen Afzal, former Finance Secretary, Government of the Punjab who is now said to be serving the Federal Government, for submitting a wrong summary to the Chief Minister on 6-8-1985 for illegally suggesting the institution of a parallel fund under the executive order, instead of advising him to amend section 21 of Act X of 1975, and after its approval enabling him to illegally spend public funds to the tune of lacs of rupees. A.A./A-37/L Order accordingly.