ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court ruled that it is time that the practice of adding the word “sahib” with the job title of public servants is discontinued.

In a two-page verdict in a child murder case, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa wrote; “It is about time that the practice of adding the word sahib with one’s job title is discontinued, as it unnecessarily elevates the status of public servants, discontinued, as it unnecessarily elevates the status of public servants, which may instil in them delusions of grandeur and a perception of unaccountability, which is unacceptable since it is against the interests of the public whom they are meant to serve.”

The chief justice passed the order against the judgment of the Peshawar High Court in the case of a child’s murder in Peshawar last year.

The chief justice observed in the order issued that the AAG of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) had referred to a local deputy superintendent of police as “DSP sahib”.

CJP Isa observed that the case challan had only relied on two statements and there was a lack of proper investigation. He added that this was a “classic example of an incompetently handled investigation”.

“Rather than attending to the matter with the seriousness that it deserves, two police officers, who are investigating the crime, travelled from Peshawar to bring documents which could have been emailed, faxed or sent by WhatsApp, and then the relevant documents could have been filed, which could have been useful in determining the outcome of this bail application,” stated the apex court CJ.

The chief justice directed the SC Office to send this order to the inspector general of police, to the secretary Home Department and the advocate general Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023