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  "title": "PUNJAB [SERVICE] TRIBUNALS ACT, 1974",
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  "text": "THE PUNJAB SERVICE TRIBUNALS ACT, 1974 \r\n(IX of 1974) \r\nCONTENTS \r\n1. Short title, commencement and application \r\n2. Definitions \r\n3. Tribunals \r\n3-A. Constitution of Benches \r\n4. Appeals to Tribunals \r\n5. Powers of Tribunals \r\n6. Removal of the Chairman or a Member \r\n7. Financial of Powers \r\n8. Abatement of suits and other proceedings \r\n9. Applicability of the provisions of the Limitation Act, 1908 \r\n10. [* * * * *] \r\n11. Rules \r\n12. [* * * * *] \r\n \r\n \r\nTEXT \r\n1\r\nTHE PUNJAB \r\n2\r\n[SERVICE] TRIBUNALS ACT, 1974 \r\n(IX of 1974) \r\n[20th June, 1974] \r\nAn \r\nAct \r\nto provide for the establishment of \r\n3\r\n[Service] Tribunals to exercise jurisdiction \r\nregarding matters relating to the terms and conditions of service in respect of \r\nservices of the Province of the Punjab. \r\nPreamble.– WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the establishment of  \r\n4\r\n [Service] \r\nTribunals to exercise exclusive jurisdiction regarding the matters relating to the terms \r\nand conditions of service in respect of the services of the Province of the Punjab and \r\nfor matters connected therewith or ancillary thereto; \r\nIt is hereby enacted as follows:– \r\n1. Short title,  commencement and application .– (1) This Act may be called \r\nthe Punjab \r\n5\r\n[Service] Tribunals Act, 1974. \r\n(2) It shall come into force at once. \r\n(3) It applies to all civil servants wherever they may be. \r\n2. Definitions.– In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or \r\ncontext,– \r\n(a) “Chairman” means the Chairman of the Tribunal; \r\n(b) “civil servant” means a person who is or who has been a member of a \r\ncivil service of the Province or holds or has held a civil post in \r\nconnection with the affairs of the Province but does not include– \r\n(i) a person who is or who has been on deputation to the Province \r\nfrom the Federation or any other Province or authority; \r\n(ii) a person who is or has been employed on contract, or on work -\r\ncharged basis, or who is or has been paid from contingencies; \r\nor \r\n(iii) a person who is or has been a „worker‟ or „workman‟ as defined \r\nin t he Factories Act, 1934 (XXV of 1934) or the Workmen‟s \r\nCompensation Act, 1923 (VIII of 1923); \r\n                                                           \r\n1This Act was passed by the Punjab Assembly on 5 th June, 1974; assented to by the Governor of the Punjab on 20 th June, \r\n1974; and, published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated 20th June, 1974 (pages 865 to 880). \r\n2Substituted for the word “Administrative” by the Punjab Administrative Tribunals (Amendment) Act, 1975 (XXVI of 1975) ; and \r\npublished in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated 31.3.1975, pages 237-O to 237-R, s.2. \r\n3Ibid \r\n4Ibid \r\n5Ibid \r\n \r\n(c) “Government” means the Government of the Punjab; \r\n(d) “Governor” means the Governor of the Punjab; \r\n(e) “Member” means the Member of the Tribunal; \r\n(f) “Registrar” means the Registrar of a Tribunal and includes any other \r\nperson authorised by a Tribunal to perform the functions and duties of \r\nthe Registrar; and \r\n(g) “Tribunal” means a \r\n6\r\n[Service] Tribunal established by this Act, or a \r\nBench thereof. \r\n7\r\n[3. Tribunals.– (1) The Governor may, by notification in the official Gazette, \r\nestablish one or more Service Tribunals and, where there are established more than \r\none Tribunals, the Governor shall specify in the notification the class or classes of \r\ncivil servants in respect of whom all the territorial limits within which or the class or \r\nclasses of cases in respect of which, each such Tribunal shall exercise jurisdiction \r\nunder this Act. \r\n(2) A Tribunal shall have exclusive jurisdiction in respect of matters \r\nrelating to the term s and conditions of service of civil servants, including disciplinary \r\nmatters. \r\n8\r\n[(3) A Tribunal shall consist of– \r\n(a) the Chairman, being a person who has been or is qualified to be a \r\nJudge of the High Court and is not more than sixty three years of age \r\non the date of appointment; and \r\n(b) such number of Members as the Government may determine, and a \r\nMember shall be a person who is– \r\n(i) a District Judge; or \r\n(ii) in the service of Pakistan of the rank of Secretary to the \r\nGovernment (or equivalent) and who has  performed quasi -\r\njudicial functions or functions relating to service matters of civil \r\nservants; or \r\n(iii) a person qualified for appointment as Judge of a High Court, in \r\ncase the persons mentioned at (i) and (ii) above are not \r\navailable. \r\n(4) Subject to this  section, the Governor shall, in consultation with the \r\nChief Justice of Lahore High Court, in the manner mentioned hereinafter, appoint the \r\nChairman and the Members on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed \r\nand, until so prescribed, as the Government may determine. \r\n(4a) In case of appointment of the Chairman, the Government shall send a \r\npanel of three persons to the Chief Justice of Lahore High Court and the Chief \r\nJustice shall recommend a person in the panel for appointment as Chairman. \r\n                                                           \r\n6Ibid \r\n7Substituted by the Punjab Administrative Tribunals (Amendment) Act, 1975 (XXVI of 1975) ; and published in the Punjab \r\nGazette (Extraordinary), dated 31.3.1975, pages 237-O to 237-R, s.3. \r\n8Substituted by the Punjab Service Tribunals (Amendment) Act 2013 (XVII of 2013) ; and published in the Punjab Gazette \r\n(Extraordinary), dated 21.8.2013, pages 595-597, s.2 (effective from 22nd July 2013). \r\n \r\n(4b) In the case of appointment of a Member– \r\n(i) for a position mentioned in section 3(b)(i), Chief Justice of Lahore High \r\nCourt, on a requisition from the Government, shall send a panel of two \r\nDistrict Judges to the Government and the Government shall select \r\none of the names for appointment as Member; \r\n(ii) for a position mentioned in section 3(b)(ii), the Government shall send \r\na panel of two persons to Chief Justice of Lahore High Court and the \r\nChief Justice shall recommend a person in the panel for appointment \r\nas Member; and \r\n(iii) for a position mentioned in section 3(b)(iii), the Government shall send \r\na panel of two persons to the Chief Justice of Lahore High Court and \r\nthe Chief Justice shall recommend a person in the panel for \r\nappointment as Member.] \r\n(5) The Chairm an or a member of a Tribunal may resign his office by \r\nwriting under his hand addressed to the Governor. \r\n(6) The Chairman or a member of a Tribunal shall not hold any other office \r\nof profit in the service of Pakistan if his remuneration is hereby increased. \r\n(7) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub -section (3), sub-section (4), \r\nsub-section (5), or sub -section (6), a Tribunal established to exercise jurisdiction in \r\nrespect of a specified class or classes of cases, may consist of one or more persons \r\nin the service of Pakistan to be appointed by the Governor.] \r\n9\r\n[3-A. Constitution of Benches .– \r\n10\r\n[(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in \r\nsection 3, the Chairman may constitute a Bench consisting of one or more Members \r\nincluding the Chairman but a Bench, other t han a Bench consisting of the Chairman, \r\nshall include at least one Member with legal or judicial experience and the Bench so \r\nconstituted shall be deemed to be a Tribunal: \r\nProvided that where a single Member Bench is to be constituted, preference \r\nshall be given to the Member having legal or judicial experience.] \r\n (2) If a Bench is unable to arrive at a unanimous decision in an appeal, the \r\nmatter shall be placed before the full Tribunal and the decision of the Tribunal shall \r\nbe expressed in terms of the opinion of the majority: \r\nProvided that if the Chairman or the member who was not already on the \r\nBench cannot be associated or is unable for any reason to take part in the hearing of \r\nthe appeal, the decision of the Tribunal shall be expressed in terms of the opi nion of \r\nthe senior member of the Bench. \r\n(3) The Chairman may, at any stage of hearing of an appeal, withdraw it \r\nfrom the Tribunal and entrust it to a Bench or may withdraw any appeal pending \r\nbefore a Bench and make it over to another Bench or to the Tribunal.] \r\n                                                           \r\n9Added by the Punjab Service Tribunals (Amen dment) Ordinance, 1980 (II of 1980); and published in the Punjab Gazette \r\n(Extraordinary), dated 19.2.1980, s.2  \r\n10Substituted by the Punjab Service Tribunals (Amendment) Act 2013 (XVII of 2013) ; and published in the Punjab Gazette \r\n(Extraordinary), dated 21.8.2013, pages 595-597, s.3 ( effective from 22nd July 2013). \r\n \r\n11\r\n[4. Appeals to Tribunals .– (1) Any civil servant aggrieved by any final order, \r\nwhether original or appellate, made by a departmental authority in respect of any of \r\nthe terms and conditions of his service may, within thirty days of the communication \r\nof such order to him or within six months of the establishment of the appropriate \r\nTribunal, whichever is latter prefer an appeal to the Tribunal– \r\nProvided that– \r\n(a) where an appeal, review or representation to a departmental authority \r\nis provided under the Punjab Civil Servants Act, 1974, or any rules \r\nagainst any such order no appeal shall lie to a Tribunal unless the \r\naggrieved civil servant has preferred an appeal or application for \r\nreview or representation to such departmental authority and a period of \r\nninety days has elapsed from the date on which such appeal, \r\napplication or representation was so preferred; \r\n(b) no appeal shall lie to a Tribunal against an order or decision of a \r\ndepartmental authority determining the fitness or otherwise of a person \r\nto be a ppointed to, or hold a particular post or to be promoted to a \r\nhigher grade; and \r\n(c) no appeal shall lie to a Tribunal against an order or decision of a \r\ndepartmental authority made at any time before the 1st July, 1969. \r\n(2) Where the appeal is against an or der or decision of a departmental \r\nauthority imposing a departmental punishment or penalty on a civil servant, the \r\nappeal shall be preferred– \r\n(a) in the case of a penalty of dismissal from service, removal from \r\nservice, compulsory retirement or reduction to  a lower post or time -\r\nscale or to a lower stage in a time-scale to a Tribunal referred to in sub-\r\nsection (3) of section 3; and \r\n(b) in any other case, to a Tribunal referred to in sub -section (7) of section \r\n3 and where no such Tribunal is established, to a Tribunal established \r\nunder sub-section (3) of that section. \r\nExplanation– In this section “departmental authority” means any authority, other \r\nthan a Tribunal, which is competent to make an order in respect of any of the terms \r\nand conditions of civil servants.] \r\n5. Powers of Tribunals .– (1) A Tribunal may, on appeal, confirm, set aside, \r\nvary or modify the order appealed against. \r\n(2) A Tribunal shall, for the purpose of deciding any appeal, be deemed to \r\nbe a civil court and shall have the same powers as are ves ted in such court under \r\nthe Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act V of 1908) including the powers of– \r\n(a) enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath; \r\n(b) compelling the production of documents; and \r\n(c) issuing commission for the examination of witnesses and documents. \r\n                                                           \r\n11Substituted by the Punjab Administrative Tribunals (Amendment) Act, 1975 (XXVI of 1975) ; and published in the Punjab \r\nGazette (Extraordinary), dated 31.3.1975, pages 237-O to 237-R, s.4. \r\n \r\n(3) No court -fee shall be payable for preferring an appeal to, or filing, \r\nexhibiting or recording any document in, or obtaining any document from a Tribunal. \r\n12\r\n[6. Removal of the Chairman or a Member .– (1) The Government may remove \r\nthe Chairman or relieve a Member, during the tenure of his office, on the ground of \r\nmisconduct or, physical or mental incapacity. \r\n(2) The Government shall, before removing or relieving the Chairman or \r\nthe Member, provide an opportunity of hearing to the Chairman or the Member. \r\n(3) The Chairman or the Member may, within fifteen days from the date of \r\nthe order of removal or relieving, prefer an appeal before the Lahore High Court. \r\n(4) The appeal mentioned in subsection (3) shall be heard and decided by  \r\na Division Bench of Lahore High Court within thirty days and if the High Court fails to \r\ndecide the appeal within thirty days of filing the appeal, the appeal shall abate and \r\nthe decision of the Government shall become final. \r\n(5) Without prejudice to any o ther action under the law, the Government \r\nshall communicate to the appointing authority the circumstances in which the \r\nChairman or the Member was relieved before the expiry of the term of three years \r\nand the appointing authority may take appropriate necessary action under the law.] \r\n13\r\n[7. Financial Powers .– (1) The Chairman shall be the Principal Accounting \r\nOfficer of the Tribunal. \r\n(2) The Chairman may re -appropriate funds from one head of account to \r\nanother head of account or sanction expenditure from within  the budget allocated to \r\nthe Tribunal and approval of the Government for the purpose shall not be required.] \r\n8. Abatement of suits and other proceedings .– All suits, appeals and \r\napplications regarding any matter within the jurisdiction of a Tribunal pendin g in any \r\ncourt immediately before the establishment of the appropriate Tribunal shall abate on \r\nthe establishment of such Tribunal: \r\n Provided that any party to such a suit, appeal or application may, within ninety \r\ndays of establishment of the appropriate Tr ibunal, prefer an appeal to it in respect of \r\nany such matter which is in issue in such suit, appeal or application. \r\n9. Applicability of the provisions of the Limitation Act, 1908.– The provisions \r\nof sections 5 and 12 of the Limitation Act, 1908 (IX of 1908 ), shall apply to appeals \r\nunder this Act. \r\n14\r\n[10. Repeal and transfer of cases.– * * * * * * * *   ] \r\n                                                           \r\n12Previous Section 6 “ Benches and their Procedure ” was omitted by the Punjab Administrative Tribunals (Amendment) Act, \r\n1975 (XXXI of 1975) ; and published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated 31.3.1975, pages 237 -O to 237 -R, s.5, and \r\nthe present Section 6 was inserted by the Punjab Service Tribunals (Amendment) Act 2013 (XVII of 2013); and published in the \r\nPunjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated 21.8.2013, pages 595-597, s.4 ( effective from 22nd July 2013). \r\n13Previous Section 7 “ Casual Vacancy” was omitted by t he Punjab Administrative Tribunals (Amendment) Act 1975 (XXXI of \r\n1975); and published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated 31.3.1975, pages 237 -O to 237 -R, s.5,  and the present \r\nSection 7 was inserted by the Punjab Service Tribunals (Amendment) Act 2013 (XVII of 2013) ; and published in the Punjab \r\nGazette (Extraordinary), dated 21.8.2013, pages 595-597, s.5 ( effective from 22nd July 2013). \r\n14Section 10. “Repeal and transfer of cases ” omitted by the Punjab Service Tribunals (Amendment) Act 2013 (XVII o f 2013); \r\nand published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated 21.8.2013, pages 595-597, s.6 ( effective from 22nd July 2013). \r\n \r\n15\r\n[11. Rules.– The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, may \r\nmake rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act, including the rules for purposes \r\nof implementation of the decisions of the Tribunal.] \r\n12. \r\n16\r\n[* * * * * * * * * * * *   ] \r\n \r\n17\r\n[* * * * * * * * * * * *   ] \r\n \r\n                                                           \r\n15Substituted ibid., s.7. \r\n16Section 12. “Repeal of Punjab Ordinance No.  V of 1974 ” by the Punjab Service Tribunals (Amendment)  Act 2013 (XVII of \r\n2013); and published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated 21.8.2013, pages 595 -597, s.8 ( effective from 22 nd July \r\n2013). \r\n17The First Schedule and the Second Schedule omitted by the Punjab Service Tribunals (Amendment) Act 2013 (XVII of 2013); \r\nand published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated 21.8.2013, pages 595-597, s.5 ( effective from 22nd July 2013).",
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