The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday dismissed a plea seeking the removal of Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Rao Sardar Ali Khan, saying it was inadmissible for the hearing.
Justice Muzammal Akhtar Shabbir, who had reserved his decision in the matter, declared that Rao Sardar’s appointment as Punjab IGP was based on merit.
The petitioner, Nauman Amanat, claimed that the IGP’s promotion to grade-22 was done in contravention of Article 11 of the Police Order, 2002, and demanded his dismissal.
Only a grade-22 officer, he believed, could be promoted to the provincial police chief.
Assistant Advocate General Barrister Hassan Khalid Ranjha, who opposed the case, contended that the appointment of the IGP did not contravene Article 11 of the Police Order, 2002. “The federal government had authorized the selection of Rao Sardar as the Punjab IGP out of various names provided by the Punjab government for its sanction,” he said, adding that an officer’s elevation to grade-22 did not imply that he had been promoted. “In fact, any officer can be promoted to that grade at the whim of the administration,” he stated.
