PUNJAB TRIBUNALS OF INQUIRY ORDINANCE, 1969

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THE PUNJAB TRIBUNALS OF INQUIRY ORDINANCE, 1969 
(II of 1969) 
CONTENTS 
1. Short title, extent and commencement 
2. Definitions 
3. Appointment of Tribunal, Commission or Committee of Inquiry 
4. Powers of Tribunal 
5. Additional powers of Tribunal 
6. Statements made by persons to the Tribunal 
7. Tribunal to cease to exist when so notified 
8. Procedure to be followed by the Tribunal 
9. Protection of action taken in good faith 
10. Members, etc., to be public servants 
11. Conferment of powers 
12. Act to apply to other inquiring authorities in certain cases 
13. Powers to frame rules 
 
TEXT 
1
THE 
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[PUNJAB] TRIBUNALS OF INQUIRY ORDINANCE, 1969 
(II of 1969) 
[14th April, 1969] 
An 
Ordinance 
to provide for the appointment of Tribunals of Inquiry and for vesting such Tribunals 
with certain powers. 
Preamble.– WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the appointment of Tribunals of 
Inquiry and for vesting such Tribunals with certain powers; 
NOW, THEREFORE , in pursuance of the Martial Law Proclamation of 25th 
March, 1969, read with the Provisional Constitution Order, the Administrator of 
Martial Law, Zone A, in exercise of the powers of the Governor  of West Pakistan 
conferred on him by the Chief Martial Law Administrator, is pleased to make and 
promulgate the following Ordinance:– 
1. Short title, extent and commencement. – (1) This Ordinance may be called 
the 
3
[Punjab] Tribunals of Inquiry Ordinance, 1969. 
(2) It extends to the whole of the Province of 
4
[the Punjab], except the 
Tribal Areas. 
(3) It shall come into force at once. 
2. Definitions.– In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requ ires, the 
following expressions shall have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to 
them:– 
(a) “Government” means the 
5
[Provincial Government of the Punjab]; 
(b) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under section 13; and 
(c) “Tribunal” means a T ribunal appointed or deemed to have been 
appointed under section 3, and includes a Commission or Committee 
of Inquiry appointed under the said section. 
                                                 
1This Ordinance was promulgated by the Administrator, Martial Law, Zone „A‟ on 10th April, 1969; published in the West 
Pakistan Gazette (Extraordinary), dated 14th April, 1969, pages 543-547; saved by Article 281 of the Interim Constitution of the 
Islamic Republic of Pakistan (1972); and, validated by the Validtion of Laws Act, 1975 (LXIII of 1975). 
2Substituted for the words “West Pakistan” by the Punjab Laws (Adaptation) Order, 1974 (P.O. No. 1 of 1974), w.e.f. 14.8.1973, 
Article 2 and the Schedule; and published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated 20.11.1974, pages 1425-A to 1425-PP. 
3Substituted for the words “West Pakistan” by the Punjab Laws (Adaptation) Order, 1974 (P.O. No. 1 of 1974), w.e.f. 14.8.1973, 
Article 2 and the Schedule; and published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated 20.11.1974, pages 1425-A to 1425-PP. 
4Substituted for the words “West Pakistan” by the Punjab Laws (Adaptation) Order, 1974 (P.O. No. 1 of 1974), w.e.f. 14.8.1973, 
Article 2 and the Schedule; and published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated 20.11.1974, pages 1425-A to 1425-PP. 
5Substituted for the words “Government of West Pakistan” by the Punjab Laws (Adaptation) Order, 1974 (P.O. No. 1 of 1974), 
w.e.f. 14.8.1973, Article 2 and the Schedule; and published in the Punja b Gazette (Extraordinary), dated 20.11.1974, pages 
1425-A to 1425-PP. 
3. Appointment of Tribunal, Commission or Committee of Inquiry. – (1) 
Government may, if it is of opinion  that it is necessary so to do, by notification in the 
official Gazette, appoint a Tribunal, Commission or Committee of Inquiry for the 
purpose of making an inquiry into any definite matter of public importance and 
performing such functions and within such  time as may be specified in the 
notification, and the Tribunal, Commission or Committee so appointed shall make 
the inquiry and perform the function accordingly. 
(2) The Tribunal may consist of one or more members appointed by 
Government, and where the Tr ibunal consists of more than one member, one of 
them may be appointed as the President or Chairman thereof. 
4. Powers of Tribunal. – The Tribunal shall have the powers of a civil court, 
while trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
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, in respec t of the 
following matters, namely:– 
(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining 
him on oath; 
(b) requiring the discovery and production of any document; 
(c) receiving evidence on affidavits; 
(d) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents. 
5. Additional powers of Tribunal. – (1) Where Government is of opinion that, 
having regard to the nature of the inquiry to be made and other circumstances of the 
case, all or any of the provisions of sub -section (2) or sub -section (3) or sub -section 
(4) or sub -section (5) or sub -section (6)  should be made applicable to a Tribunal, 
Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, direct that all or such of the 
said provisions as may be specified in the notification sh all apply to that Tribunal, 
and on the issue of such a notification, the said provisions shall apply accordingly. 
(2) The Tribunal shall have power to require any person, subject to any 
privilege which may be claimed by that person under any law for the ti me being in 
force, to furnish information on such points or matters as, in the opinion of the 
Tribunal, may be useful for, or relevant to, the subject matter of the inquiry. 
(3) The President or the Chairman of the Tribunal, or any officer, not below 
the rank of a gazetted officer, specially authorised in this behalf by Government may 
enter any building or place where the Tribunal has reason to believe that any books 
of account or other documents relating to the subject matter of the inquiry may be 
found, and may seize any such books of account or documents or take extracts or 
copies therefrom, subject to the provisions of section 102 and section 103 of the 
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898
7
, in so far as they may be applicable. 
(4) The Tribunal shall be deem ed to be a civil court and when any offence 
as is described in section 175, section 178, section 179, section 180 or section 228 
of the Pakistan Penal Code
8
, is committed in the view or presence of the Tribunal, 
the Tribunal may, after recording the facts constituting the offence and the statement 
                                                 
6Act V of 1908. 
7Act V of 1898. 
8Act XLV of 1860. 
of the accused as provided for in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898
9
, forward the 
case to a magistrate having jurisdiction to try the same and the magistrate to whom 
any such case is forwarded shall proceed to hear the complaint against the accused 
as if the case had been forwarded to him under section 482 of the Code of Criminal 
Procedure, 1898
10
. 
(5) Any proceeding before the Tribunal shall be deemed to be a judicial 
proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 and 228 of the Pakistan Penal Code
11
. 
(6) The Tribunal shall have the powers of a civil court, while trying a suit 
under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
12
, in respect of requisitioning any public 
record or copy thereof from any court or office. 
6. Statements made by persons to the Tribunal. – No statement made by a 
person in the course of giving evidence before the Tribunal shall subject him to, or 
be used against him in, any civil or criminal proceeding except a prosecution for 
giving false evidence by such statement: 
Provided that the statement– 
(a) is made in reply to a question which he is required by the Tribunal to 
answer; or 
(b) is relevant to the subject matter of inquiry. 
7. Tribunal to cease to exist when so notified. – Government may, if it is of 
opinion that the continued existence of a Tribunal is unnecessary, by notification in 
the official Gazette, declare that the Tribunal shall cease to exist from such date as 
may be specified in this behalf in such notification, and thereupon, the Tribunal s hall 
cease to exist. 
8. Procedure to be followed by the Tribunal. – The Tribunal shall, subject to 
any rules that may be made in this behalf, have power to regulate its own procedure 
(including the fixing of places and times of its sittings and deciding whe ther to sit in 
public or in private) and may act notwithstanding the temporary absence of any 
member or the existence of a vacancy among its members. 
9. Protection of action taken in good faith.– No suit or other legal proceedings 
shall lie against Governm ent, the Tribunal or any member thereof, or any person 
acting under the direction either of Government or of the Tribunal in respect of 
anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this 
Ordinance or of any rules or orders mad e thereunder or in respect of the publication, 
by or under the authority of Government or the Tribunal, of any report, paper or 
proceedings. 
10. Members, etc., to be public servants. – Every member of the Tribunal and 
every officer appointed or authorised b y the Tribunal to exercise functions under this 
                                                 
9Act V of 1898. 
10Act V of 1898. 
11Act XLV of 1860. 
12Act V of 1908. 
Ordinance shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of section 21 
of the Pakistan Penal Code
13
. 
11. Conferment of powers. – (1) Government may, by notification in the official 
Gazette, and subject to such conditions or restrictions, if any, as may be mentioned 
in the notification confer upon the Tribunal the power to order a police investigation 
into any matter coming before it. 
(2) In conducting an investigation ordered under sub -section (1) the police 
shall exercise the powers conferred on the police in respect of a cognizable case by 
Chapter XIV of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898
14
. 
12. Act to apply to other inquiring authorities in certain cases. – Where any 
authority (by whatever name call ed), other than a Tribunal appointed under section 
3, has been or is set up under any resolution or order of Government for the purpose 
of making an inquiry into any definite matter of public importance and Government is 
of opinion that any of the provisio ns of this Ordinance should be made applicable to 
that authority, Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, direct that the 
said provisions of this Ordinance shall apply to that authority, and on the issue of 
such notification , that authorit y shall be deemed to be a Tribunal appointed under 
section 3 for the purpose of this Ordinance. 
13 Powers to frame rules. – Government may, by notification in the official 
Gazette, make rules to carry out the purposes of this Ordinance. 
                                                 
13Act XLV of 1860. 
14Act V of 1898.