Updated: Wednesday May 22, 2013/AlArbia'a
Rajab 13, 1434/Budhavara
Jyaistha 01, 1935, at 06:40:00 AM
The
(Pb.
Act X of 1997)
C O N T E N T S
Sections
1. Short title, extent and commencement.
2. Definitions.
3. Appointment
of Ombudsman.
4. Tenure
of the Ombudsman.
5. Ombudsman
not to hold any other office of profit, etc.
6. Terms
and conditions of service and remuneration of Ombudsman.
7. Acting
Ombudsman.
8. Appointment
and terms and conditions of service of staff.
9. Jurisdiction,
functions and powers of the Ombudsman.
10. Procedure
and evidence.
11. Recommendations
for implementation.
12.
13. Reference
by Ombudsman.
14. Powers
of the Ombudsman.
15. Power
to enter and search any premises.
16. Power
to punish for contempt.
17. Inspection
Team.
18. Standing
Committees, etc.
19. Delegation
of powers.
20. Appointment
of advisors, etc.
21. Authorization
of functionaries, etc.
22. Award
of costs and compensation and refund of amounts.
23. Assistance
and advice to Ombudsman.
24. Conduct
of business.
25. Requirement
of affidavits.
26. Remuneration
of advisors, consultants, etc.
27. Ombudsman
and staff to be public servants.
28. Annual
and other reports.
29. Bar
of jurisdiction.
30. Immunity.
31. Reference
by the Government.
32. Representation
to Governor.
33. Informal
resolution of disputes.
34. Service
of process.
35. Expenditure
to be charged on Provincial Consolidated Fund.
36. Rules.
37. Act
to override other laws.
38. Removal
of difficulties.
39. Repeal.
SCHEDULES
[1][1] The
(Pb. Act X of 1997)
[
An
Act to provide for the establishment of the office of Ombudsman in the Province
of the
Preamble.— WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the
appointment of the Provincial Ombudsman for protection of the rights of the
people, ensuring adherence to the rule of law, diagnosing, redressing and
rectifying any injustice done to a person through maladministration and
suppressing corrupt practices.
It
is hereby enacted as follows:-
1. Short title, extent and commencement.— (1) This Act may be called the Punjab Office
of the Ombudsman Act 1997.
(2) It extends to the Province of the
(3) It shall come into force at once.
2. Definitions.— In this Act, unless there is anything
repugnant in the subject or context—
(1) “Agency”
means a Department, Commission or office of the Provincial Government or a
statutory corporation or other institution established or controlled by the
Provincial Government but does not include the High Court and courts working
under the supervision and control of the High Court, and the Provincial
Assembly of the
(2) “maladministration”
includes—
(i) a
decision, process, recommendation, act or omission or commission which—
(a) is contrary to law, rules or regulations or is a departure from
established practice or procedure, unless it is bonafide and for valid reasons;
or
(b) is perverse, arbitrary or unreasonable, unjust, biased, oppressive,
or discriminatory; or
(c) is based on irrelevant grounds; or
(d) involves the exercise of powers or the failure
or refusal to do so, for corrupt or improper motives, such as, bribery,
jobbery, favouritism, nepotism and administrative excesses; and
(ii) neglect,
inattention, delay, incompetence, inefficiency and ineptitude, in the
administration or discharge of duties and responsibilities.;
(3) “Office”
means the office of the Ombudsman;
(4) “Ombudsman”
means the Ombudsman for the
(5) “Prescribed”
means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(6) “Public servant” means a public servant as defined in section 21 of
the Pakistan Penal Code 1860, and includes a Minister, Advisor, Parliamentary
Secretary and the Chief Executive, Director or other officer or employee or
member of an Agency; and
(7) “Staff”
means any employee or commissioner of the Office and includes co-opted members
of the staff, consultants, advisors, bailiffs, liaison officers and experts.
3. Appointment
of Ombudsman.— (1) There shall be an Ombudsman, for the
(2) An
Ombudsman shall be a person who is, or has been or is qualified to be a judge
of the High Court [2][2][or any other] person of
known integrity.
(3) Before
entering upon office, the Ombudsman shall take an oath before the Governor in
the form set out in the First Schedule to this Act.
(4) The Ombudsman shall, in all matters,
perform his functions and exercise his powers fairly, honestly, diligently and
independently of the Executive and all executive authorities throughout the
Province shall act in aid of the Ombudsman.
4. Tenure of the Ombudsman.— (1) The Ombudsman shall hold office for a
period of [3][3][four] years and shall not be eligible for
any extension of tenure or for re-appointment as Ombudsman under any
circumstances[4][4][:]
[5][5][Provided that a sitting Judge of the High
Court working as Ombudsman may be called back by the competent authority before
expiry of his tenure.]
(2) The Ombudsman may resign his office by
writing under his hand addressed to the Governor.
5. Ombudsman not to hold any other office
of profit, etc.— (1) The
Ombudsman shall not—
(a) hold
any other office of profit in the service of
(b) occupy
any other position carrying the right to remuneration for the rendering of
services.
(2) The Ombudsman [6][6][, not being a sitting Judge of the High
Court] shall not hold any office of profit in the service of Pakistan [7][7][* * * * ] before the expiration of two years
after he has ceased to hold that office nor shall he be eligible during the
tenure of office and for a period of two years thereafter for election as a
member or Parliament or a Provincial Assembly or any local body or take part in
any political activity.
6. Terms and conditions of service and
remuneration of Ombudsman.—
(1) The Ombudsman shall be entitled to such salary, allowances and privileges
and other terms and conditions of service as the Government may determine and
these terms shall not be varied during the term of office of an Ombudsman.
(2) The Ombudsman may be removed from office
by the Government on the ground of misconduct or of being incapable of properly
performing the duties of his office by reason of physical or mental incapacity.
The Government shall provide the Ombudsman a copy of charges before such an
order:
Provided
that the Ombudsman may, if he sees fit and appropriate to refute any charges,
request an open public evidentiary hearing before a Division Bench of the High
Court and if such hearing is not held within thirty days from the date of the
receipt of such request or not concluded within ninety days of its receipt, the
Ombudsman will be absolved of all stigma. In such circumstances, the Ombudsman
may choose to leave his office and shall be entitled to receive full
remuneration and benefits for the rest of his term.
(3) If the Ombudsman makes a request under
the proviso to sub-section (2), he shall not perform his functions under this
Act until the hearing before the High Court has concluded.
(4) An Ombudsman removed from office on the
ground of misconduct shall not be eligible to hold any office of profit in the
service of
7. Acting
Ombudsman.— At any time when the office of Ombudsman is vacant or the Ombudsman is
absent or is unable to perform his functions due to any cause, the Government
shall appoint an acting Ombudsman.
8. Appointment and terms and conditions of
service of staff.— (1) The
members of the staff, other than those mentioned in section 20 or those of a
class specified by the Government by order in writing shall be appointed by the
Government in consultation with the Ombudsman.
(2) It shall not be necessary to consult the
Provincial Public Service Commission for making appointment of the members of
the staff or on matters relating to qualifications for such appointment and
method of their recruitment.
(3) The
members of the staff shall be entitled to such salary, allowances and other
terms and conditions of service as may be prescribed having regard to salary,
allowances and other terms and conditions of service that may for the time
being be admissible to other employees of the Provincial Government in the
corresponding Basic Pay Scale.
(4) Before entering upon office a member of
the staff mentioned in subsection (1) shall take an Oath before the Ombudsman
in the form set out in the Second Schedule to this Act.
9. Jurisdiction, functions and powers of
the Ombudsman.— (1) The
Ombudsman may on a complaint by any aggrieved person, on a reference by the
Government or the Provincial Assembly, or on a motion of the Supreme Court or
the High Court made during the course of any proceedings before it or of his
own motion, undertake any investigation into any allegation of
maladministration on the part of any Agency or any of its officers or
employees:
Provided
that the Ombudsman shall not have any jurisdiction to investigate or inquire
into any matters which—
(a) are sub judice before a Court of competent jurisdiction on the date
of the receipt of a complaint, reference or motion by him; or
(b) relate
to the external affairs of
(c) relate
to, or are connected with, the defence of
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in
subsection (1), the Ombudsman shall not entertain for investigation any
complaint by or on behalf of a public servant or functionary concerning any
matters relating to the Agency in which he is, or has been, working, in respect
of any personal grievance relating to his service therein.
(3) For carrying out the objectives of this
Act and, in particular for ascertaining the root causes of corrupt practices
and injustice, the Ombudsman may arrange for studies to be made or research to be
conducted and may recommend appropriate steps for their eradication.
10. Procedure and evidence.— (1) A complaint shall be made on solemn
affirmation or oath and in writing addressed to the Ombudsman by the person
aggrieved or, in the case of his death, by the legal representative and may be
lodged in person at the Office or handed over to the Ombudsman in person or
sent by any other means of communication to the Office.
(2) No
anonymous or pseudonymous complaints shall be entertained.
(3) A complaint shall be made not later than
three months from the day on which the person aggrieved first had the notice of
the matter alleged in the complaint, but the Ombudsman may conduct any
investigation pursuant to a complaint which is not within time if he considers
that there are special circumstances which make it proper for him to do so.
(4) Where the Ombudsman proposes to conduct
an investigation he shall issue to the principal officer of the Agency
concerned, and to any other person who is alleged in the complaint to have
taken or authorized the action complained of, a notice calling upon him to meet
the allegations contained in the complaint, including rebuttal:
Provided that the Ombudsman may proceed with the
investigation if no response to the notice is received by him from such
principal officer or other person within thirty days of the receipt of the
notice or within such longer period as may have been allowed by the Ombudsman.
(5) Every investigation shall be conducted
informally but, the Ombudsman may adopt such procedure as he considers
appropriate for such investigation and he may obtain information from such
persons and in such manner and make such inquiries as he thinks fit.
(6) A person shall be entitled to appear in
person or be represented before the Ombudsman.
(7) The Ombudsman shall, in accordance with
the rules made under this Act pay expenses and allowances to any person who
attends or furnishes information for the purposes of an investigation.
(8) The conduct of an investigation shall
not affect any action taken by the Agency concerned, or any power or duty of
that Agency to take further action with respect to any matter subject to the
investigation.
(9) For the purpose of an investigation
under this Act the Ombudsman may require any officer or member of the Agency
concerned to furnish any information or to produce any document which in the
opinion of the Ombudsman is relevant and helpful in the conduct of the
investigation and there shall be no obligation to maintain secrecy in respect of
disclosure of any information or document for the purposes of such
investigation:
Provided
that the Government may, in its discretion, on grounds of its being a State
secret, allow a claim of privilege with respect to any information or document.
(10) In any case where the Ombudsman decides not
to conduct an investigation, he shall send to the complainant a statement of
his reasons for not conducting the investigation.
(11) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, the
Ombudsman shall regulate the procedure for the conduct of business or the
exercise of powers under this Act.
11. Recommendations for implementation.— (1) If, after having considered a matter on
his own motion, or on a complaint or on a reference by the Government or the
Provincial Assembly, or on a motion by the Supreme Court or the High Court, as
the case may be, the Ombudsman is of the opinion that the matter considered
amounts to maladministration, he shall communicate his finding to the Agency
concerned—
(a) to
consider the matter further;
(b) to
modify or cancel the decision, process, recommendation, act or omission;
(c) to
explain more fully the act or decision in question;
(d) to
take disciplinary action against any public servant of any Agency under the
relevant laws applicable to him;
(e) to
dispose of the matter or case within a specified time; and
(f) to
take any other steps specified by the Ombudsman.
(2)
The Agency shall, within such time as may be specified by the Ombudsman, inform him about the action
taken on his direction or the reasons for not complying with the same.
(3) In any
case where the Ombudsman has considered a matter, or conducted an
investigation, on a complaint or on reference by the Government or the
Provincial Assembly or on a motion by the Supreme Court or the High Court, the
Ombudsman shall forward a copy of the communication received by him from the
Agency in pursuance of sub-section (2) to the complainant or, as the case may
be, the Government, the Provincial Assembly, the Supreme Court or the High Court.
(4) If, after conducting an investigation,
it appears to the Ombudsman that an injustice has been caused to the person
aggrieved in consequence of maladministration and that the injustice has not
been or will not be remedied, he may, if he thinks fit, lay a special report on
the case before the Government.
(5) If the Agency concerned does not comply
with the recommendations of the Ombudsman or does not give reasons to the
satisfaction of the Ombudsman for non-compliance, it shall be treated as
“Defiance of Recommendations” and shall be dealt with as hereinafter provided.
12. Defiance of recommendations.— (1) If there is a ‘Defence of
Recommendations’ by any public servant in any Agency with regard to the
implementation of a recommendation given by the Ombudsman, the Ombudsman may
refer the matter to the Government which may, in its discretion, direct the
Agency to implement the recommendation and inform the Ombudsman accordingly.
(2) In each instance of ‘Defiance of
Recommendations’ a report by the Ombudsman shall become a part of the personal
file or character roll of the public servant primarily responsible for the
defiance:
Provided
that the public servant concerned had been granted an opportunity to be heard
in the matter.
13. Reference by Ombudsman.— Where, during or after an inspection or an
investigation, the Ombudsman is satisfied that any person is guilty of any
allegations as referred to in subsection (1) of section 9, the Ombudsman may
refer the case to the concerned authority for appropriate corrective or
disciplinary action, or both and the said authority shall inform the Ombudsman
within thirty days of the receipt of reference of the action taken. If no
information is received within this period, the Ombudsman may bring the matter
to the notice of the Government, for such action as he may deem fit.
14. Powers of the Ombudsman.— (1) The Ombudsman shall, for the purposes of
this Act have the same powers as are vested in a Civil Court under the Code of
Civil Procedure, 1908, in respect of the following matters, namely:-
(a) summoning
and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath;
(b) compelling
the production of documents;
(c) receiving
evidence on affidavits; and
(d) issuing
commission for the examination of witnesses.
(2) The Ombudsman shall have the power to require any person to furnish information
on such points or matters as, in the opinion of the Ombudsman, may be useful
for, or relevant to, the subject-matter of any inspection or investigation.
(3) The powers referred to in sub-section
(1) may be exercised by the Ombudsman or any person authorized in writing by
the Ombudsman in this behalf while carrying out an inspection or investigation
under the provisions of this Act.
(4) Where the Ombudsman finds the complaint
referred to in sub-section (1) of section 9 to be false, frivolous or
vexatious, he may award reasonable compensation to the Agency, public servant
or other functionary against whom the complaint was made; and the amount of
such compensation shall be recoverable from the complainant as arrears of land
revenue:
Provided
that the award of compensation under this sub-section shall not debar the
aggrieved person from seeking any other remedy.
(5) If any Agency, public or other
functionary fails to comply with a direction of the Ombudsman, he may, in
addition to taking other actions under this Act, refer the matter to the
appropriate authority for taking disciplinary action against the person who
disregarded the direction of the Ombudsman.
(6) If the Ombudsman has reason to believe
that any public servant or other functionary has acted in a manner warranting
criminal or disciplinary proceedings against him, he may refer the matter to
the appropriate authority for necessary action to be taken within the time
specified by the Ombudsman.
(7) The staff and the nominees of the Office
may be commissioned by the Ombudsman to administer oaths for the purposes of
this Act and to attest various affidavits, affirmations or declarations which
shall be admitted in evidence in all proceedings under this Act without proof
of the signature or seal or official character of such person.
15. Power to enter and search any premises.— (1) The Ombudsman, or any member of the
staff authorized in this behalf, may, for the purpose of making any inspection
or investigation, enter any premises where the Ombudsman or, as the case may
be, such member has reason to believe that any article, books of accounts, or
any other documents relating to the subject-matter of inspection or investigation
may be found, and may—
(a) search
such premises and inspect any article, books of accounts or other documents;
(b) take
extracts or copies of such books of accounts and documents;
(c) impound
or seal such articles, books of accounts and documents; and
(d) make
an inventory of such articles, books of account and other documents found in
such premises.
(2) all searches made under sub-section (1)
shall be carried out mutatis mutandis,
in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898.
16. Power to punish for contempt.— (1) The Ombudsman shall have the same
powers, mutatis mutandis, as the High
Court has to punish any person for its contempt who—
(a) abuses,
interferes with, impedes, imperils, or obstructs the process of the Ombudsman
in any way or disobeys any order of the Ombudsman;
(b) scandalises
the Ombudsman or otherwise does anything which tends to bring the Ombudsman,
his staff or nominees or any person authorized by the Ombudsman in relation to
his office, into hatred, ridicule or contempt;
(c) does
anything which tends to prejudice the determination of a matter pending before
the Ombudsman; or
(d) does
any other thing which , by any other law, constitutes contempt of Court:
Provided that fair comments made in good faith and in
public interest on the working of the Ombudsman or any of his staff, or on the
final report of the Ombudsman after the completion of the investigation shall
not constitute contempt of the Ombudsman or his Office.
(2) Any person sentenced under sub-section
(1) may, notwithstanding anything herein contained, within thirty days on the
passing of the order, appeal to the High Court.
17. Inspection Team.— (1) The Ombudsman may constitute an Inspection Team for the performance of any
of the functions of the Ombudsman.
(2) An Inspection Team shall consist of one
or more members of the staff and shall be assisted by such other person or
persons as the Ombudsman may consider necessary.
(3) An Inspection Team shall exercise such
of the powers of the Ombudsman as he may specify by order in writing and every
report of the Inspection Team shall first be submitted to the Ombudsman with
its recommendations for appropriate action.
18. Standing Committees, etc.— The Ombudsman may, whenever he thinks fit,
establish standing or advisory committees at specified places with specified
jurisdiction for performing such functions of the Ombudsman as are assigned to
them from time to time and every report of such committee shall first be
submitted to the Ombudsman with its recommendations for appropriate action.
19. Delegation of powers.— The Ombudsman may, by order in writing,
delegate such of his powers as may be
specified in the order, to any member of his staff or to a standing or advisory
committee, to be exercised subject to such conditions as may be specified and
every report of such member or committee shall first be submitted to the
Ombudsman with his or its recommendations for appropriate action.
20. Appointment of advisors, etc.— The Ombudsman may appoint competent persons
of integrity as advisors, consultants, fellows, bailiffs, interns,
commissioners and experts as well as ministerial staff with or without
remuneration to assist him in the discharge of his duties under this Act.
21. Authorization of functionaries, etc.— The Ombudsman may, if he considers it
expedient, authorise a District Judge or any agency, public servant or
other functionary working under the
administrative control of the Provincial Government to undertake the functions
of the Ombudsman under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 14 in
respect of any matter falling within his jurisdiction and it shall be the duty
of the Agency, public servant or other functionary so authorised to undertake
such functions to such extent and subject to such conditions as the Ombudsman
may specify.
22. Award of costs and compensation and refund
of amounts.— (1) The
Ombudsman may, where he deems necessary, call upon a public servant, other
functionary or any Agency to show cause why compensation be not awarded to an
aggrieved party for any loss or damage suffered by him on account of any
maladministration committed by such public servant, other functionary or
Agency, and after considering the explanation, and hearing such public servant,
other functionary or Agency, award reasonable costs or compensation and the
same shall be recoverable as arrears of land revenue from the public servant,
functionary or Agency.
(2) In cases involving payment of illegal
gratification to any employee of any Agency, or to any other person on his
behalf, or misappropriation, criminal breach of trust or cheating, the
Ombudsman may order the payment thereof for credit to the Government or pass
such other order as he may deem fit.
(3) An order made under sub-section (2)
against any person shall not absolve such person of any liability under any
other law.
23. Assistance and advice to Ombudsman.— (1) The Ombudsman may seek the assistance of
any person or authority for the performance of his functions under this Act.
(2) All officers of any Agency and any
person whose assistance has been sought by the Ombudsman in the performance of
his functions shall render such assistance to the extent it is within their
power or capacity.
(3) No statement made by a person or
authority in the course of giving evidence before the Ombudsman or his staff
shall subject him to, or be used against him in any civil or criminal
proceedings except for prosecution of such person for giving false evidence.
24. Conduct of business.— (1) The Ombudsman shall be the Chief
Executive of the Office.
(2) The Ombudsman shall be the Principal
Accounts Officer of the Office in respect of the expenditure incurred against
budget grant or grants controlled by the Ombudsman and shall, for this purpose,
exercise all the financial and administrative powers delegated to an
Administrative Department.
25. Requirement of affidavits.— (1) The Ombudsman may require any
complainant or any party connected or concerned with a complaint, or with any
inquiry or reference to submit affidavits attested or notarized before any
competent authority in that behalf within the time prescribed by the Ombudsman
or his staff.
(2) The Ombudsman may take evidence without
technicalities and may also require complainants or witnesses to take lie detection
tests to examine their veracity and
credibility and draw such inferences that are reasonable in all
circumstances of the case especially when a person refuses, without reasonable
justification, to submit to such tests.
26. Remuneration of advisors, consultants, etc.— (1) The Ombudsman may, in his discretion,
fix an honorarium or remuneration for advisors, consultants, experts and
interns engaged by him from time to time for the services rendered.
(2) The
Ombudsman may, in his discretion fix a reward or remuneration to any person for
exceptional services rendered, or valuable assistance given, to the Ombudsman
in carrying out his functions:
Provided
that the Ombudsman shall withhold the identity of that person, if so requested
by the person concerned, and take steps to provide due protection under the law
to such person against harassment, victimization, retribution, reprisals or
retaliation.
27. Ombudsman and staff to be public servants.— The Ombudsman, the employees, officers and
all other staff of the Office shall be deemed to be public servants within the
meaning of section 21 of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860.
28. Annual and other reports.— (1) Within three months of the conclusion of
the calendar year to which the report pertains, the Ombudsman shall submit an
Annual Report to the Governor.
(2) Simultaneously, such reports shall be
released by the Ombudsman for publication and copies thereof shall be provided
to the public at reasonable cost.
(3) The Ombudsman may also, from time to
time, make public any of his studies,
research, conclusions, recommendations, ideas or suggestions in respect of any
matters being dealt with by the Office.
(4) The report and other documents mentioned
in this section shall be placed before the Provincial Assembly as early as
possible.
29. Bar of jurisdiction.—
(i) to question the validity of any action taken,
or intended to be taken, or order made, or anything done or purporting to have
been taken, made or done under this Act; or
(ii) to grant an injunction or stay or to make any
interim order in relation to any proceeding before, or anything done or
intended to be done or purporting to have been done by, or under the orders or
at the instance of the Ombudsman.
30. Immunity.— No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the
Ombudsman, his staff, Inspection Team, nominees, members of a standing or
advisory committee or any person authorised by the Ombudsman for anything which
is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act.
31. Reference by the Government.— (1) The government may refer any matter,
report or complaint for investigation and independent recommendations by the
Ombudsman.
(2) The Ombudsman shall promptly investigate
any such matter, report or complaint and submit his findings or opinion within
a reasonable time.
(3) The Government may, by notification in
the official Gazette, exclude specified matters, from the operation of any of
provisions of this Act.
32. Representation to Governor.— Any person aggrieved by a decision or order
of the Ombudsman may, within thirty days of the decision or order, make a
representation to the Governor, who may pass such order thereon as he may deem
fit.
33. Informal resolution of disputes.— (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in
this Act, the Ombudsman and a member of the staff shall have the authority to
informally conciliate, amicably resolve, stipulate, settle or ameliorate any
grievance without written memorandum and without the necessity of docketing any
complaint or issuing any official notice.
(2) The Ombudsman may appoint for purposes
of liaison counselors, whether honorary or otherwise, at local level on such
terms and conditions as the Ombudsman may deem proper.
34. Service of process.— (1) For the purposes of this Act, a written
process or communication from the Office shall be deemed to have been duly
served upon a respondent or any other person by, inter alia, anyone or more of
the following methods, namely:-
(i) by
service in person through any employee of the Office or by any special
process-server appointed in the name of the Ombudsman by any authorized staff
of the Office, or any other person authorised in this behalf;
(ii) by
depositing in any mail box posting in any Post Office a postage prepaid copy of
the process, or any other document under certificate of posting or by
registered post acknowledgment due to the last known address of the respondent
or person concerned in the record of the Office, in which case service shall by
deemed to have been affected ten days after the aforesaid mailing;
(iii) by
a police officer or any employee or nominee of the Office leaving the process
or document at the last known address, abode, or place of business of the
respondent or person concerned and if no one is available at the aforementioned
address, premises or place, by affixing a copy of the process or other document
to the main entrance of such address; and
(iv) by
publishing the process or document through any newspaper and sending a copy
thereof to the respondent or the person concerned through ordinary mail, in
which case service shall be deemed to have been effected on the day of the
publication of the newspaper.
(2) In all matters involving service the
burden of proof shall be upon a respondent to credibly demonstrate by assigning
sufficient cause that he, in fact, had absolutely no knowledge of the process,
and that he actually acted in good faith.
(3) Whenever a document or process from the
office is mailed, the envelope or the package shall clearly bear the legend
that it is from the Office.
35. Expenditure to be charged on Provincial
Consolidated Fund.— The
remuneration payable to the Ombudsman and the administrative expenses of the
Office, including the remuneration payable to staff, nominees and grantees,
shall be an expenditure charged upon the Provincial Consolidated Fund.
36. Rules.— The Ombudsman may, with the approval of the Government, make rules for
carrying out the purposes of this Act.
37. Act to override other laws.— The provisions of this Act shall have effect
notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in
force.
38. Removal of difficulties.— If any difficulty arises in giving effect to
any provision of this Act, the Government may make such order not inconsistent
with the provisions of this Act as may appear to him to be necessary for the
purpose of removing such difficulty.
39. Repeal.— The Punjab Office of the Ombudsman Ordinance 1997 (XIV of 1997) is
hereby repealed.
FIRST
SCHEDULE
[see
section 3(3)]
I,___________________ do solemnly swear that I will bear true faith
and allegiance to
That
as Ombudsman for the Province of Punjab I will discharge my duties and perform
my functions honestly, to the best of my ability, faithfully in accordance with
the laws for the time being in force in the Province without fear or favour,
affection or ill-will.
That
I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my
official decisions.
That
I shall do my best to promote the best interest of
And
that I will not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person any
matter which shall be brought under my consideration, or shall become known to
me, as Ombudsman, except as may be required for the due discharge of my duties
as Ombudsman.
May
Allah Almighty help and guide me (Ameen).
SECOND
SCHEDULE
[see
section 8(4)]
I,___________________ do solemnly swear that I will bear true faith
and allegiance to
That
as an employee of the office of the Ombudsman for the Province of Punjab, I
will discharge my duties and perform my functions honestly, to the best of my
ability, faithfully, in accordance with the laws for the time being in force in
the Province, without fear or favour, affection, or ill-will.
That
I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my
official decisions.
And
that I will not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person any
matter which shall be brought under my consideration, or shall become known to me, as an employee
of the office of the Ombudsman.
May Allah Almighty help and guide me
(Ameen).
[1][1]This Act was passed by the
Punjab Assembly on 25th June, 1997; assented to by the Governor of the Punjab
on 27th June, 1997; and, was published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary),
dated 30th June, 1997, pages 1015 to 1024.
[2][2] The words ‘and is’ substituted by
the Punjab Office of the Ombudsman (Amendment) Act, 2003 (III of 2003).
[3][3] The word ‘three’ substituted by
the Punjab Office of the Ombudsman (Amendment) Act, 2003 (III of 2003).
[4][4] Substituted by the
[5][5] Added by the
[6][6] Inserted by the
[7][7] Omitted by the
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