PA approves bill to prolong retired officer’s inquiry and expedite appeals

The Punjab Assembly Standing Committee has approved important legislative changes intended to extend accountability investigations against retired government officials and expedite the appeals procedure for those who have been found not guilty.

The bills will take effect immediately after they are sent to the governor.

The Criminal Code (Punjab Amendment) Bill 2025, which amends Section 417 of the Criminal Code 1898, was approved by the Punjab Assembly. According to the legislation, the Public Prosecution Department Secretary now has the authority to grant appeals against acquittals instead of the provincial administration.

The new law eliminates the need for prior bureaucratic delays by allowing the Secretary to directly direct the Public Prosecutor to appeal an acquittal decision. The goal of the modification is to guarantee timely filing within the allotted time, which was frequently overlooked under the previous process because of drawn-out approval procedures.

The bill’s Statement of Objects and Reasons states that the goal of this reform is to eliminate needless administrative obstacles and make the appeals process quick and efficient.

Bill 2025 to amend the PEDA Act
The Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (PEDA) Act Amendment Bill 2025 was also approved by the Standing Committee. A long-standing gap pertaining to retired government officials is addressed by this amendment. Accountability investigations used to automatically terminate if they weren’t finished within two years of an officer’s retirement.

With documented justification, the amendment permits the competent authority to continue investigations after the two-year limit, either for a predetermined amount of time or as needed. The objective is to avoid cases from being closed too soon because of procedural deadlines and to guarantee that accountability proceedings continue efficiently.

Additionally, this improvement ensures that investigations and disciplinary measures can progress without needless interruptions by resolving difficulties where PEDA proceedings were previously stopped due to court rulings or technical flaws.