From The Express Tribune · APP · · 1m 10s
Supreme Court rules off-duty violence against wife is misconduct
Supreme Court says civil servants who abuse spouses face service penalties even outside work hours.
In brief
Supreme Court says civil servants who abuse spouses face service penalties even outside work hours. Pakistan's Supreme Court ruled that civil servants who commit violence against their wives, even outside work hours, can be punished for misconduct under service rules. Originally reported by The Express Tribune.
Supreme Court ruling
The Supreme Court ruled that serious misconduct by a civil servant in private life, including violence against his wife, could constitute service misconduct even outside office hours.
Jawad Abbasi case
Jawad Abbasi, an Intelligence Bureau cook accused of setting his wife on fire, challenged compulsory retirement after departmental proceedings.
Court's reasoning
The court observed that violence does not become private merely because it occurs within the home and that civil servants' conduct reflects on public office suitability.
Departmental inquiry
The departmental inquiry examined 13 witnesses and found the employee attempted to frame his wife's death as suicide.
Criminal vs departmental standards
An acquittal in criminal court does not automatically mean the employee is fit for government service under departmental rules.
Court's decision
The Supreme Court dismissed the petition, upholding the compulsory retirement of Jawad Abbasi as proportionate to the misconduct.
The big picture
Pakistan's Supreme Court ruled that civil servants who commit violence against their wives, even outside work hours, can be punished for misconduct under service rules.
