ISLAMABAD: The conduct of public servants is a matter of public concern, and respect for women is not a private virtue that a civil servant may practise or neglect as they please, the Supreme Court held on Tuesday.
The declaration came as a twomember bench, headed by Justice Ayesha Malik and including Justice Shahid Waheed, rejected a plea filed by a former employee of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) against his compulsory retirement over the allegation that he had set his wife on fire.
The plea was filed by Jawad Abbasi, who used to work as a cook in IB, against a Jan 15 decision by the Federal Service Tribunal (FST) touphold his compulsory retirement from service.
‘Off-duty conduct of sufficient gravity may constitute misconduct and acquittal in a criminal case does not undo misconduct independently established in departmental proceedings, affirmed Justice Waheed in the ninepage judgement he authored.
He had faced disciplinary proceedings under the Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 2020 over allegations that he had set his wife on fire, was ill-mannered and short-tempered.
Abbasi was also accused of conduct that was criminal, unprofessional and prejudicial to good order and service discipline. Moreover, his conduct was said to have adversely affected IB’s reputation and discipline.The departmental proceedings found the charges established, and by an order dated June 14, 2024, he was penalised with compulsory retirement. His departmental appeal in the case had also been rejected, and his appeal pertaining to his service had been dismissed by the FST. However, the lower court acquitted him in the criminal matter.
Before the SC, his counsel Aftab Alam Yasir argued that the matter at hand was a private and domestic one between the married couple, had no connection with the petitioner’s official duties, and that Abbasi’s conduct outside his workplace and office hours could not constitute misconduct under the Civil Servants Rules.
He added his client had previously been acquitted by a trial court, fur-ther claiming that his wife had attempted suicide. He contended that the rejection of Abbasi’s plea following the departmental inquiry was ‘erroneous’.
In his judgement on the matter, Justice Waheed observed that the dignity of a woman, whether as a wife, sister, daughter, mother or a fellow citizen, was a fundamental value protected by the Constitution.
‘Respect for that dignity is not merely a matter of personal morality; it is an obligation that the state is entitled to expect from every person in its service,’ the judgement said.
‘Public service is a trust, and the conduct of those who hold it is a matter of public concern, at home as much as atwork,’thejudgementsaid.’Respect for women is not a private virtue that acivil servant may practise or neglect as he pleases; it is part of the character [of] the state.
The ruling said that the conduct of a civil servant was not judged exclusively by the manner in which he performed his official duties.
His character, integrity and conduct in private life may also become relevant where these factors bore upon his suitability to hold a public office, the discipline of the service or public confidence in the institution he served, Justice Waheed emphasised.
It said public confidence in the civil service rested on the assurance that those who served the state respected the dignity of those around them and a civil servant who denied that respect to his own wife forfeited the trust on which his office depended.