Law, Discipline and Service Rules
What this section tests
The legal spine of the force: the Airports Security Force Act, 1975 and the rules and regulations framed under it, plus the general law you will apply - the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, the Qanun-e-Shahadat, 1984 and the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.
Service discipline
- The Act constitutes the Force, provides for appointment of the Director General, and confers powers of arrest, search and seizure within airport limits.
- Discipline rests on a written charge, a fair hearing and a proportionate punishment. Typical punishments include reprimand, forfeiture of seniority or service, stoppage of pay, removal and dismissal.
- A court of inquiry is fact-finding, not a trial; it does not itself award punishment.
- Appeals lie up the chain of command within the period the rules prescribe, and late appeals are usually barred.
Offences you will meet
Absence without leave, insubordination, sleeping on duty, disclosure of official information and misuse of authority. These are departmental matters and do not automatically amount to criminal offences.
Worked example
A corporal is found asleep at a screening point. The correct sequence: the supervisor records the facts, the corporal is formally charged in writing, given time to reply, and then the commanding officer awards punishment in light of the record. Jumping straight to dismissal without a charge breaches natural justice, and an appeal can overturn it.
Traps
- Confusing departmental punishment with criminal prosecution - they can run in parallel but are not the same thing.
- Citing fundamental rights as if they were barracks rules: they bind the state, and reasonable restrictions apply to disciplined forces.