Friday, the Supreme Court (SC) suspended the transfer of Lahore police chief Ghulam Mahmood Dogar, noting that the chief election commissioner cannot approve transfers without consulting other members.
A three-member bench consisting of Justices Ijazul Ahsan, Mazhar Ali Akbar Naqvi, and Munib Akhtar issued the orders.
Dogar, as the CCPO of Lahore, was at the centre of a dispute between the federal government and the then-Punjab government led by Chaudhry Parvez Elahi. Dogar indicted PML-N leaders and led the Wazirabad Joint Investigation Team, which was investigating the attempted assassination of Imran Khan. The Centre attempted to recall him, but the Punjab government resisted. It ultimately suspended Dogar, but the supreme court reinstated him. Eventually, he was transferred by the caretaker government.
During the previous hearing, the supreme court questioned CEC Raja Sikandar Sultan about the “hurry” in which Dogar was transferred. It had also urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Umar Ata Bandial, to initiate suo moto proceedings regarding the delay in the announcement of the election date for Punjab.
The Hearing
As the hearing began today, Justice Ahsan inquired if the CEC was present, to which the ECP secretary replied that Raja was unable to attend due to illness.
In continuation of his argument, the ECP secretary stated that the Punjab government first requested Dogar’s transfer verbally on January 23, 2023.
In this case, Justice Ahsan noted that, according to the rules, the electoral body could grant permission for transfers in emergency situations.
Meanwhile, Justice Naqvi asked, “Can the election commission normally permit transfer and posting?”
During the course of the hearing, Justice Akhtar asked the ECP secretary and DG Law to explain how a transfer could be made in response to a verbal request. “Who gave the chief election commissioner the authority to approve verbal posting requests?
“Will the court grant such a request if Mr. X calls and makes such a request?” he asked. “Under what laws did a caretaker government request the transfer of assistant commissioners?”
Justice Akhtar also noted that the ECP, and not the CEC, had the authority to authorise postings and transfers. “Is it customary for the ECP to approve verbal transfer requests?”
Here, the ECP secretary stated that such transfers had previously occurred within the electoral body. Following an oral request, a written request was made.
However, the written request in Dogar’s case was sent after the police officer was transferred, as stated by Justice Akhtar.
The ECP secretary then explained that ECP received the written request on January 24 and that Dogar was transferred on February 6.
“Are decisions taken on verbal requests in normal circumstances too?” Judge Akhtar inquired. “Are constitutional institutions authorised to issue verbal orders?”
Additionally, Justice Ahsan noted that a request was received, approved, and implemented. “Correspondence was conducted after the execution,” he explained.
Justice Akhtar then inquired if the ECP had delegated all of its authority to the CEC, to which the ECP’s DG of Law responded that no such documentation was present.
Subsequently, the court suspended Dogar’s transfer orders and referred the case to a five-member SC bench presiding over a case titled “Political Interference in Punjab Police Transfer and Posting.”
Transfer Saga
The federal government initially recalled Dogar, a BS-21 officer, in September 2022. After the Lahore police had charged two PML-N ministers and two senior officials of state-run PTV with terrorism for allegedly “stoking religious hatred” against former prime minister Imran Khan and “endangering his life,” the seemingly unexpected move was taken.
However, the then-chief minister of Punjab, Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, prevented Dogar from resigning, stating that the federal government cannot remove or transfer him.
Dogar was also famously captured meeting then-chief minister Parvez Elahi with deference after refusing to report to the federal government as directed by the Centre.
In early November, following a back-and-forth, the federal government suspended him for allegedly failing to ensure the security of the Governor House during a violent protest by PTI workers against the assassination attempt on Imran during his party’s long march.
A directive from the Supreme Court dated 2 December 2022 reinstated him as the CCPO of Lahore.
Dogar was appointed as the head of the joint investigation team (JIT) investigating Imran’s assault in Wazirabad. Despite the PTI’s assertions, he proposed departmental action against four senior panel members in early January after they stated there was no evidence of multiple shooters.
He had also proposed disciplinary action against two other senior police officers, including Gujrat District Police Officer Syed Ghazanfar Ali Shah and a Counter Terrorism Department senior superintendent of police — who were not members of the investigation team — for allegedly recording and leaking a video statement of the prime suspect arrested at the scene of the attack.
Dogar’s accusations followed a letter written to him by the four members, in which they expressed reservations about his attempts to influence the investigation process.
The newly installed caretaker government of Punjab replaced Dogar with Bilal Siddique Kamyana on January 23.
