ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday ordered that officers who had used fake degrees to get inducted into the Punjab Police should be arrested.
The court also took notice of the dual nationality of civil servants (grade 17 and above) as well as judges, instructing the federal government and registrar high courts to submit their detailed reports within 15 days.
A three-member SC bench presided over by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, while hearing an appeal filed by the Punjab government against a judgement of the Lahore High Court, which had ruled that a departmental investigation against seven persons accused of using fake degrees to gain employment into Rawalpindi police was enough.
The officials, after being initially detained, had subsequently been released.
The additional prosecutor, however, in Wednesday’s session reminded the SC that a departmental investigation is not equivalent to criminal action and that both can take place simultaneously. At this, the SC ordered for the trial court to conduct a fresh hearing and give its verdict accordingly.
The court also issued arrest orders for the defendants nominated in the cases and directed those out on bail to submit their bonds.