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 officeof profit, etc.
6. Terms and conditions of service andremuneration of Ombudsman.
7. Acting Ombudsman.
8. Appointment and terms and conditions ofservice of staff.
9. Jurisdiction, functions and powers ofthe 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 andrefund 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 publicservants.
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. Expenditureto be charged on Provincial Consolidated Fund.
36. Rules.
37. Act to override other laws.
38. Removal of difficulties.
39. Repeal.
SCHEDULES
<![if !supportFootnotes]>[1]<![endif]>THE
(Pb. Act X of 1997)
[
An Act to provide for theestablishment of the office of Ombudsman in the Province of the
Preamble.— WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for theappointment of the Provincial Ombudsman for protection of the rights of thepeople, ensuring adherence to the rule of law, diagnosing, redressing andrectifying any injustice done to a person through maladministration andsuppressing corrupt practices.
It is hereby enacted as follows:-
1. Shorttitle, extent and commencement.— (1) This Act may be called the PunjabOffice of the Ombudsman Act 1997.
(2) Itextends to the Province of the
(3) Itshall come into force at once.
2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context—
(1) “Agency” means aDepartment, Commission or office of the Provincial Government or a statutorycorporation or other institution established or controlled by the ProvincialGovernment but does not include the High Court and courts working under the supervisionand 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) iscontrary to law, rules or regulations or is a departure from establishedpractice 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 failureor 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 theadministration 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 madeunder this Act;
(6) “Public servant” means a public servant as defined in section 21 ofthe Pakistan Penal Code 1860, and includes a Minister, Advisor, ParliamentarySecretary and the Chief Executive, Director or other officer or employee ormember of an Agency; and
(7) “Staff” means any employee or commissioner ofthe 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 qualifiedto be a judge of the High Court <![if !supportFootnotes]>[2]<![endif]>[or any other] person of known integrity.
(3) Before entering upon office, the Ombudsman shall take an oathbefore the Governor in the form set out in the First Schedule to this Act.
(4) TheOmbudsman shall, in all matters, perform his functions and exercise his powersfairly, honestly, diligently and independently of the Executive and all executiveauthorities throughout the Province shall act in aid of the Ombudsman.
4. Tenureof the Ombudsman.— (1) The Ombudsman shall hold office for a period of <![if !supportFootnotes]>[3]<![endif]>[four]years and shall not be eligible for any extension of tenure or forre-appointment as Ombudsman under any circumstances<![if !supportFootnotes]>[4]<![endif]>[:]
<![if !supportFootnotes]>[5]<![endif]>[Providedthat a sitting Judge of the High Court working as Ombudsman may be called backby the competent authority before expiry of his tenure.]
(2) The Ombudsman may resign his office by writingunder his hand addressed to the Governor.
5. Ombudsmannot to hold any other office of profit, etc.— (1) The Ombudsman shall not—
(a) hold any other office of profit in the serviceof
(b) occupy any other position carrying the rightto remuneration for the rendering of services.
(2) The Ombudsman <![if !supportFootnotes]>[6]<![endif]>[,not being a sitting Judge of the High Court] shall not hold any office ofprofit in the service of Pakistan <![if !supportFootnotes]>[7]<![endif]>[** * * ] before the expiration of two years after he has ceased to hold thatoffice nor shall he be eligible during the tenure of office and for a period oftwo years thereafter for election as a member or Parliament or a ProvincialAssembly or any local body or take part in any political activity.
6. Termsand conditions of service and remuneration of Ombudsman.— (1) The Ombudsmanshall be entitled to such salary, allowances and privileges and other terms andconditions of service as the Government may determine and these terms shall notbe varied during the term of office of an Ombudsman.
(2) The Ombudsman may be removed from office bythe Government on the ground of misconduct or of being incapable of properlyperforming the duties of his office by reason of physical or mental incapacity.The Government shall provide the Ombudsman a copy of charges before such anorder:
Provided that the Ombudsman may, if hesees fit and appropriate to refute any charges, request an open publicevidentiary hearing before a Division Bench of the High Court and if suchhearing is not held within thirty days from the date of the receipt of suchrequest or not concluded within ninety days of its receipt, the Ombudsman willbe absolved of all stigma. In such circumstances, the Ombudsman may choose toleave his office and shall be entitled to receive full remuneration and benefitsfor the rest of his term.
(3) Ifthe Ombudsman makes a request under the proviso to sub-section (2), he shallnot perform his functions under this Act until the hearing before the HighCourt has concluded.
(4) AnOmbudsman removed from office on the ground of misconduct shall not be eligibleto hold any office of profit in the service of
7. Acting Ombudsman.— At any time when the office of Ombudsman isvacant or the Ombudsman is absent or is unable to perform his functions due toany cause, the Government shall appoint an acting Ombudsman.
8. Appointmentand terms and conditions of service of staff.— (1) The members of thestaff, other than those mentioned in section 20 or those of a class specifiedby the Government by order in writing shall be appointed by the Government inconsultation with the Ombudsman.
(2) It shall not be necessary to consult theProvincial Public Service Commission for making appointment of the members ofthe staff or on matters relating to qualifications for such appointment andmethod of their recruitment.
(3) The members of the staff shall be entitled to such salary, allowancesand other terms and conditions of service as may be prescribed having regard tosalary, allowances and other terms and conditions of service that may for thetime being be admissible to other employees of the Provincial Government in thecorresponding Basic Pay Scale.
(4) Beforeentering upon office a member of the staff mentioned in subsection (1) shalltake an Oath before the Ombudsman in the form set out in the Second Schedule tothis Act.
9. Jurisdiction,functions and powers of the Ombudsman.— (1) The Ombudsman may on acomplaint by any aggrieved person, on a reference by the Government or theProvincial Assembly, or on a motion of the Supreme Court or the High Court madeduring the course of any proceedings before it or of his own motion, undertakeany investigation into any allegation of maladministration on the part of anyAgency or any of its officers or employees:
Providedthat the Ombudsman shall not have any jurisdiction to investigate or inquireinto any matters which—
(a) are sub judice before a Court of competent jurisdiction on the dateof 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 defenceof
(2) Notwithstandinganything contained in subsection (1), the Ombudsman shall not entertain forinvestigation any complaint by or on behalf of a public servant or functionaryconcerning 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 Actand, in particular for ascertaining the root causes of corrupt practices andinjustice, the Ombudsman may arrange for studies to be made or research to beconducted and may recommend appropriate steps for their eradication.
10. Procedure and evidence.— (1) A complaintshall be made on solemn affirmation or oath and in writing addressed to theOmbudsman by the person aggrieved or, in the case of his death, by the legalrepresentative and may be lodged in person at the Office or handed over to theOmbudsman 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 threemonths from the day on which the person aggrieved first had the notice of thematter alleged in the complaint, but the Ombudsman may conduct anyinvestigation pursuant to a complaint which is not within time if he considersthat there are special circumstances which make it proper for him to do so.
(4) Wherethe Ombudsman proposes to conduct an investigation he shall issue to theprincipal officer of the Agency concerned, and to any other person who isalleged 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 Ombudsmanmay proceed with the investigation if no response to the notice is received byhim from such principal officer or other person within thirty days of thereceipt of the notice or within such longer period as may have been allowed bythe Ombudsman.
(5) Everyinvestigation shall be conducted informally but, the Ombudsman may adopt suchprocedure as he considers appropriate for such investigation and he may obtaininformation from such persons and in such manner and make such inquiries as hethinks fit.
(6) Aperson shall be entitled to appear in person or be represented before theOmbudsman.
(7) TheOmbudsman shall, in accordance with the rules made under this Act pay expensesand allowances to any person who attends or furnishes information for thepurposes of an investigation.
(8) The conduct of an investigation shall notaffect any action taken by the Agency concerned, or any power or duty of thatAgency to take further action with respect to any matter subject to theinvestigation.
(9) Forthe purpose of an investigation under this Act the Ombudsman may require anyofficer or member of the Agency concerned to furnish any information or toproduce any document which in the opinion of the Ombudsman is relevant andhelpful in the conduct of the investigation and there shall be no obligation tomaintain secrecy in respect of disclosure of any information or document forthe purposes of such investigation:
Provided that the Government may, in itsdiscretion, on grounds of its being a State secret, allow a claim of privilegewith respect to any information or document.
(10) Inany case where the Ombudsman decides not to conduct an investigation, he shallsend to the complainant a statement of his reasons for not conducting theinvestigation.
(11) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, theOmbudsman shall regulate the procedure for the conduct of business or theexercise 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 ona reference by the Government or the Provincial Assembly, or on a motion by theSupreme Court or the High Court, as the case may be, the Ombudsman is of theopinion that the matter considered amounts to maladministration, he shallcommunicate 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 inquestion;
(d) to take disciplinary action against any publicservant of any Agency under the relevant laws applicable to him;
(e) to dispose of the matter or case within a specifiedtime; and
(f) to take any other steps specified by theOmbudsman.
(2) The Agency shall, within such time asmay be specified by the Ombudsman,inform him about the action taken on his direction or the reasons for notcomplying with the same.
(3) In any case where the Ombudsman has considered a matter, orconducted an investigation, on a complaint or on reference by the Government orthe 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 fromthe Agency in pursuance of sub-section (2) to the complainant or, as the casemay be, the Government, the Provincial Assembly, the Supreme Court or the HighCourt.
(4) If,after conducting an investigation, it appears to the Ombudsman that aninjustice has been caused to the person aggrieved in consequence ofmaladministration 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 withthe recommendations of the Ombudsman or does not give reasons to thesatisfaction 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) Ifthere is a ‘Defence of Recommendations’ by any public servant in any Agencywith regard to the implementation of a recommendation given by the Ombudsman,the Ombudsman may refer the matter to the Government which may, in itsdiscretion, direct the Agency to implement the recommendation and inform theOmbudsman accordingly.
(2) Ineach instance of ‘Defiance of Recommendations’ a report by the Ombudsman shallbecome a part of the personal file or character roll of the public servantprimarily responsible for the defiance:
Provided that the public servant concernedhad been granted an opportunity to be heard in the matter.
13. Reference by Ombudsman.— Where, duringor after an inspection or an investigation, the Ombudsman is satisfied that anyperson is guilty of any allegations as referred to in subsection (1) of section9, the Ombudsman may refer the case to the concerned authority for appropriatecorrective or disciplinary action, or both and the said authority shall informthe Ombudsman within thirty days of the receipt of reference of the actiontaken. If no information is received within this period, the Ombudsman maybring the matter to the notice of the Government, for such action as he maydeem fit.
14. Powers of the Ombudsman.— (1) TheOmbudsman shall, for the purposes of this Act have the same powers as arevested in a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, in respect ofthe following matters, namely:-
(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of anyperson and examining him on oath;
(b) compelling the production of documents;
(c) receiving evidence on affidavits; and
(d) issuing commission for the examination ofwitnesses.
(2) The Ombudsman shall have the power to require any person to furnish informationon such points or matters as, in the opinion of the Ombudsman, may be usefulfor, or relevant to, the subject-matter of any inspection or investigation.
(3) Thepowers referred to in sub-section (1) may be exercised by the Ombudsman or anyperson authorized in writing by the Ombudsman in this behalf while carrying outan inspection or investigation under the provisions of this Act.
(4) Wherethe Ombudsman finds the complaint referred to in sub-section (1) of section 9to be false, frivolous or vexatious, he may award reasonable compensation tothe Agency, public servant or other functionary against whom the complaint wasmade; and the amount of such compensation shall be recoverable from thecomplainant as arrears of land revenue:
Provided that the award of compensationunder this sub-section shall not debar the aggrieved person from seeking anyother remedy.
(5) Ifany Agency, public or other functionary fails to comply with a direction of theOmbudsman, he may, in addition to taking other actions under this Act, referthe matter to the appropriate authority for taking disciplinary action againstthe person who disregarded the direction of the Ombudsman.
(6) Ifthe Ombudsman has reason to believe that any public servant or otherfunctionary has acted in a manner warranting criminal or disciplinaryproceedings against him, he may refer the matter to the appropriate authorityfor necessary action to be taken within the time specified by the Ombudsman.
(7) The staff and the nominees of the Office maybe commissioned by the Ombudsman to administer oaths for the purposes of thisAct and to attest various affidavits, affirmations or declarations which shallbe admitted in evidence in all proceedings under this Act without proof of thesignature 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 premiseswhere the Ombudsman or, as the case may be, such member has reason to believethat any article, books of accounts, or any other documents relating to thesubject-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 ofaccounts and documents;
(c) impound or seal such articles, books ofaccounts and documents; and
(d) make an inventory of such articles, books of accountand other documents found in such premises.
(2) allsearches made under sub-section (1) shall be carried out mutatis mutandis, in accordance with the provisions of the Code ofCriminal Procedure, 1898.
16. Power to punish for contempt.— (1) TheOmbudsman shall have the same powers, mutatismutandis, as the High Court has to punish any person for its contempt who—
(a) abuses, interferes with, impedes, imperils, orobstructs the process of the Ombudsman in any way or disobeys any order of theOmbudsman;
(b) scandalises the Ombudsman or otherwise doesanything which tends to bring the Ombudsman, his staff or nominees or anyperson authorized by the Ombudsman in relation to his office, into hatred,ridicule or contempt;
(c) does anything which tends to prejudice thedetermination 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 commentsmade in good faith and in public interest on the working of the Ombudsman orany of his staff, or on the final report of the Ombudsman after the completionof the investigation shall not constitute contempt of the Ombudsman or hisOffice.
(2) Anyperson 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 mayconstitute an Inspection Team for theperformance of any of the functions of the Ombudsman.
(2) AnInspection Team shall consist of one or more members of the staff and shall beassisted by such other person or persons as the Ombudsman may considernecessary.
(3) AnInspection Team shall exercise such of the powers of the Ombudsman as he mayspecify by order in writing and every report of the Inspection Team shall firstbe submitted to the Ombudsman with its recommendations for appropriate action.
18. Standing Committees, etc.— The Ombudsmanmay, whenever he thinks fit, establish standing or advisory committees atspecified places with specified jurisdiction for performing such functions ofthe Ombudsman as are assigned to them from time to time and every report ofsuch committee shall first be submitted to the Ombudsman with itsrecommendations for appropriate action.
19. Delegation of powers.— The Ombudsmanmay, by order in writing, delegate suchof his powers as may be specified in the order, to any member of his staff orto a standing or advisory committee, to be exercised subject to such conditionsas may be specified and every report of such member or committee shall first besubmitted to the Ombudsman with his or its recommendations for appropriateaction.
20. Appointment of advisors, etc.— TheOmbudsman may appoint competent persons of integrity as advisors, consultants,fellows, bailiffs, interns, commissioners and experts as well as ministerialstaff with or without remuneration to assist him in the discharge of his dutiesunder this Act.
21. Authorization of functionaries, etc.—The Ombudsman may, if he considers it expedient, authorise a District Judge orany agency, public servant or otherfunctionary working under the administrative control of the ProvincialGovernment to undertake the functions of the Ombudsman under sub-section (1) orsub-section (2) of section 14 in respect of any matter falling within hisjurisdiction and it shall be the duty of the Agency, public servant or otherfunctionary so authorised to undertake such functions to such extent andsubject to such conditions as the Ombudsman may specify.
22. Award of costs and compensation and refundof amounts.— (1) The Ombudsman may, where he deems necessary, call upon apublic servant, other functionary or any Agency to show cause why compensationbe not awarded to an aggrieved party for any loss or damage suffered by him onaccount of any maladministration committed by such public servant, otherfunctionary or Agency, and after considering the explanation, and hearing suchpublic servant, other functionary or Agency, award reasonable costs orcompensation and the same shall be recoverable as arrears of land revenue fromthe public servant, functionary or Agency.
(2) In cases involving payment of illegalgratification to any employee of any Agency, or to any other person on hisbehalf, or misappropriation, criminal breach of trust or cheating, theOmbudsman may order the payment thereof for credit to the Government or passsuch other order as he may deem fit.
(3) Anorder made under sub-section (2) against any person shall not absolve suchperson 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 theperformance of his functions under this Act.
(2) All officers of any Agency and any personwhose assistance has been sought by the Ombudsman in the performance of hisfunctions shall render such assistance to the extent it is within their poweror capacity.
(3) No statement made by a person or authority inthe course of giving evidence before the Ombudsman or his staff shall subjecthim to, or be used against him in any civil or criminal proceedings except forprosecution of such person for giving false evidence.
24. Conduct of business.— (1) The Ombudsmanshall be the Chief Executive of the Office.
(2) TheOmbudsman shall be the Principal Accounts Officer of the Office in respect ofthe expenditure incurred against budget grant or grants controlled by theOmbudsman and shall, for this purpose, exercise all the financial andadministrative powers delegated to an Administrative Department.
25. Requirement of affidavits.— (1) TheOmbudsman may require any complainant or any party connected or concerned witha complaint, or with any inquiry or reference to submit affidavits attested ornotarized before any competent authority in that behalf within the timeprescribed by the Ombudsman or his staff.
(2) TheOmbudsman may take evidence without technicalities and may also requirecomplainants or witnesses to take lie detection tests to examine their veracityand credibility and draw such inferencesthat are reasonable in all circumstances of the case especially when a personrefuses, 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 foradvisors, consultants, experts and interns engaged by him from time to time forthe services rendered.
(2) The Ombudsman may, in his discretion fix a reward or remunerationto any person for exceptional services rendered, or valuable assistance given,to the Ombudsman in carrying out his functions:
Provided that the Ombudsman shall withholdthe identity of that person, if so requested by the person concerned, and takesteps to provide due protection under the law to such person againstharassment, 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 shallbe deemed to be public servants within the meaning of section 21 of thePakistan Penal Code, 1860.
28. Annual and other reports.— (1) Withinthree months of the conclusion of the calendar year to which the reportpertains, the Ombudsman shall submit an Annual Report to the Governor.
(2) Simultaneously,such reports shall be released by the Ombudsman for publication and copiesthereof shall be provided to the public at reasonable cost.
(3) TheOmbudsman may also, from time to time, makepublic any of his studies, research, conclusions, recommendations, ideasor suggestions in respect of any matters being dealt with by the Office.
(4) Thereport and other documents mentioned in this section shall be placed before theProvincial Assembly as early as possible.
29. Bar of jurisdiction.—
(i) to question thevalidity of any action taken, or intended to be taken, or order made, oranything done or purporting to have been taken, made or done under this Act; or
(ii) to grant aninjunction or stay or to make any interim order in relation to any proceedingbefore, or anything done or intended to be done or purporting to have been doneby, or under the orders or at the instance of the Ombudsman.
30. Immunity.— No suit, prosecution or otherlegal proceeding shall lie against the Ombudsman, his staff, Inspection Team,nominees, members of a standing or advisory committee or any person authorisedby the Ombudsman for anything which is in good faith done or intended to bedone under this Act.
31. Reference by the Government.— (1) Thegovernment may refer any matter, report or complaint for investigation andindependent recommendations by the Ombudsman.
(2) TheOmbudsman shall promptly investigate any such matter, report or complaint andsubmit his findings or opinion within a reasonable time.
(3) The Government may, by notification in theofficial Gazette, exclude specified matters, from the operation of any ofprovisions of this Act.
32. Representation to Governor.— Any personaggrieved by a decision or order of the Ombudsman may, within thirty days ofthe decision or order, make a representation to the Governor, who may pass suchorder thereon as he may deem fit.
33. Informal resolution of disputes.— (1)Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the Ombudsman and a member ofthe staff shall have the authority to informally conciliate, amicably resolve,stipulate, settle or ameliorate any grievance without written memorandum andwithout the necessity of docketing any complaint or issuing any officialnotice.
(2) TheOmbudsman may appoint for purposes of liaison counselors, whether honorary orotherwise, at local level on such terms and conditions as the Ombudsman maydeem proper.
34. Service of process.— (1) For thepurposes of this Act, a written process or communication from the Office shallbe 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 inperson through any employee of the Office or by any special process-serverappointed in the name of the Ombudsman by any authorized staff of the Office,or any other person authorised in this behalf;
(ii) by depositingin any mail box posting in any Post Office a postage prepaid copy of theprocess, or any other document under certificate of posting or by registeredpost acknowledgment due to the last known address of the respondent or personconcerned in the record of the Office, in which case service shall by deemed tohave been affected ten days after the aforesaid mailing;
(iii) by a policeofficer or any employee or nominee of the Office leaving the process ordocument at the last known address, abode, or place of business of therespondent or person concerned and if no one is available at the aforementionedaddress, premises or place, by affixing a copy of the process or other documentto the main entrance of such address; and
(iv) by publishingthe process or document through any newspaper and sending a copy thereof to therespondent or the person concerned through ordinary mail, in which case serviceshall be deemed to have been effected on the day of the publication of thenewspaper.
(2) Inall matters involving service the burden of proof shall be upon a respondent tocredibly demonstrate by assigning sufficient cause that he, in fact, hadabsolutely no knowledge of the process, and that he actually acted in goodfaith.
(3) Whenever a document or process from the officeis mailed, the envelope or the package shall clearly bear the legend that it isfrom the Office.
35. Expenditure to be charged on ProvincialConsolidated Fund.— The remuneration payable to the Ombudsman and theadministrative expenses of the Office, including the remuneration payable tostaff, nominees and grantees, shall be an expenditure charged upon theProvincial Consolidated Fund.
36. Rules.— The Ombudsman may, with theapproval of the Government, make rules for carrying out the purposes of thisAct.
37. Act to override other laws.— Theprovisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything contained inany other law for the time being in force.
38. Removal of difficulties.— If anydifficulty arises in giving effect to any provision of this Act, the Governmentmay make such order not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act as mayappear to him to be necessary for the purpose of removing such difficulty.
39. Repeal.— The Punjab Office of theOmbudsman Ordinance 1997 (XIV of 1997) is hereby repealed.
FIRST SCHEDULE
[see section 3(3)]
I,___________________ do solemnly swear that I will bear true faithand allegiance to
That as Ombudsman for the Province ofPunjab I will discharge my duties and perform my functions honestly, to thebest of my ability, faithfully in accordance with the laws for the time beingin force in the Province without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.
That I will not allow my personal interestto influence my official conduct or my official decisions.
That I shall do my best to promote thebest interest of
And that I will not directly or indirectlycommunicate or reveal to any person any matter which shall be brought under myconsideration, or shall become known to me, as Ombudsman, except as may berequired 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 faithand allegiance to
Thatas an employee of the office of the Ombudsman for the Province of Punjab, Iwill discharge my duties and perform my functions honestly, to the best of myability, faithfully, in accordance with the laws for the time being in force inthe Province, without fear or favour, affection, or ill-will.
That I will not allow my personal interestto influence my official conduct or my official decisions.
And that I will not directly or indirectlycommunicate or reveal to any person any matter which shall be brought under myconsideration, or shall become known tome, as an employee of the office of the Ombudsman.
May Allah Almighty help and guide me(Ameen).
FAQs
What are the powers of Ombudsman in Punjab? ›
Powers. Ombudsman has the same powers as are vested in a Civil Court under the code of civil procedure for summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person; compelling the production of documents; receiving evidence on affidavits and issuing commission for examination of witnesses.
What is the purpose of an Ombudsman? ›An Ombudsman resolves disputes from a neutral, independent viewpoint.
What is the Ombudsman Act in Pakistan? ›— (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 ...
How many Ombudsman are there in Pakistan? ›PAKISTAN OMBUDSMAN SCHEMES
In Pakistan, at present, there are five Federal Ombudsmen, i.e., Wafaqi Mohtasib, Federal Tax Ombudsman, Federal Insurance Ombudsman, Federal Ombudsperson for Women and Banking Mohtasib.