Embezzlement

2018 YLRN 17 HIGH-COURT-AZAD-KASHMIR Judicial Precedent

S. 406Criminal Procedure Code (V of 1898), S.154Azad Jammu and Kashmir Interim Constitution Act (VIII of 1974), S.44EmbezzlementRegistration of criminal caseWrit petition

Regional Manager of Utility Stores, alleged that accused had embezzled huge government amount and referred the matter to S.H.O. concerned to lodge FIR against the accused

Station House Officer of Police Station failed to take cognizance

Petitioner moved application to Superintendent of Police for issuance of lodging FIR against accused, who referred same to the S.H.O. concerned, but needful was not done

FIR was not lodged even on order of the Inspector General of Police

High Court, on a writ petition by the petitioner observed that under provisions of S.154, Cr.P.C., every information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence given to an Officer Incharge of a Police Station, would be reduced to writing by him or under his direction

Officer Incharge of a Police Station, could not decline to reduce into writing the FIR on the basis of information pertaining to commission of cognizable offence

Section 154, Cr.P.C., was mandatory provision and whenever an information disclosing prima facie commission of a cognizable offence was made, the concerned Police Officer was bound under law to enter the same in prescribed book and proceed in accordance with law

High Court directed the S.H.O. concerned to register FIR against the accused

Accused would be at liberty to put his defence before S.H.O. as per law.

2017 SCMR 683 SUPREME-COURT Judicial Precedent

Ss. 3, 4, 6(1) & 10Sindh Government Rules of Business, 1986, Sched. IIConstitution of Pakistan, Art. 184(3)

Suo motu action against corruption and corrupt elements working on deputation in the Sindh Coal Authority and Energy Department of Sindh

Embezzlement

Illegal appointments

Sindh Coal Authority ("Authority") was established to explore, develop, process, mine and utilize coal in the Province of Sindh, however, instead of undertaking what the law mandated it to do, it undertook activities which the Sindh Coal Authority Act, 1994 did not permit, and that too without the approval of its Board

Authority could only implement and execute such projects and schemes which were mentioned in the said Act

Authority could not undertake projects/schemes which fell within the domain of different departments of the Government

By adding the prefix 'coal' to a project or a scheme or otherwise juggling words, a project or a scheme could not be executed by the Authority which was not mentioned in the Sindh Coal Authority Act, 1994

Special Initiative Department of the Province, to which the Sindh Government Rules of Business, 1986 had not designated any business, was merely a department in name or an empty shell, nonetheless it had embarked upon undertaking a number of projects and schemes for which it had absolutely no mandate or ability

Authority and the Special Initiative Department together were implementing and executing projects and schemes worth billions of rupees, which were outside their domain

Small group of persons was put in charge of these massive funds, avoiding established methods of checks and balances and circumventing the prescribed manner of implementing and executing of projects/schemes

Authority was executing a number of projects and schemes through its Director General, who was illegally appointed, and a group of retired and/or unqualified persons

By such methodology the long standing and established Government departments, which were designated under the Rules of Business of the Provincial Government to undertake such projects/schemes, were bypassed

Specific persons were illegally appointed or inducted in the Authority and it was through these persons that projects/schemes worth billions of rupees were implemented/executed

Moreover the Authority did not have a functional Board

In such a scenario, in the absence of a functioning Board, where all decisions were taken without the authorization of the Board, the Director General and the Provincial Energy Secretary became all the more responsible and accountable

Authority and Provincial Special Initiative Department asserted that when the projects and schemes were completed they would be transferred to the concerned regular department of the Government and these departments would assume the responsibility for maintaining them; even though such departments had neither formulated, implemented or executed these projects/schemes

When the regular departments had no hand in either formulating or executing the said projects/schemes, question was as to how they would assume the entire responsibility for ensuring they were operating properly and periodically maintained

Supreme Court observed that good governance was not a favour to be bestowed on the people; it was their right.