Al Wakeelo
Your Digital Lawyer, Always on Duty
Initializing Secure Chambers
Your Digital Lawyer, Always on Duty
Initializing Secure Chambers
Petitioner: SECRETARY, NARCOTICS CONTROL DIVISION, GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN, ISLAMABAD VS Respondent: MUHAMMAD SAJJAD
1997 P L C (C
1997 P L C (C.S.) 167
[Supreme Court of Pakistan]
Present: Sajjad Ali Shah, C. J: and Muhammad Bashir Khan Jehangiri, JJ
SECRETARY, NARCOTICS CONTROL DIVISION, GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN, ISLAMABAD and another
versus
MUHAMMAD SAJJAD and 4 others
Civil Petitions Nos. 635 to 639 of 1995, decided on 10th April, 1996.
(On appeal from the judgment dated 7‑8‑1995 of the Federal Service Tribunal, Islamabad in Appeals Nos. 230(R)/95 to 234(R)/95).
Civil Servants Act (LXXI of 1973)‑‑‑
‑‑‑‑Ss. 8 & 9‑‑‑Constitution of Pakistan (1973), Art. 212(3)‑‑‑Seniority‑‑ Promotion‑‑‑Civil servants were not promoted while their juniors were promoted‑‑‑Service Tribunal allowed civil servant's appeals with direction to Departmental Appellate Authority to review their cases and pass appropriate orders‑‑‑Validity‑‑‑Petitioners (Authorities) contented that Service Tribunal had no jurisdiction in respect of determining fitness of civil servants and that such question was considered by Departmental Promotion Committee which came to conclusion that though civil servants were eligible for promotion but they were not fit‑‑‑Proper and cogent reasons were not given for declaring civil servants to be unfit and no reference had been made to their Annual Confidential Reports or any other material supporting the factum of their unfitness‑‑‑Promoted civil servants were admittedly juniors and no plausible reason had been given to justify their promotion over heads of other civil servants‑‑‑Service Tribunal having remanded case to Departmental Appellate Authority, no interference with such order was warranted‑‑‑Leave to appeal was refused in circumstances.
Raja M. Bashir, Deputy Attorney‑General with Ch. Akhtar Ali, Advocate‑on‑Record for Petitioners.
Nemo for Respondents.
Date of hearing: 10th April, 1996.
ORDER
SAJJAD ALI SHAH, C.J.‑‑‑Respondents Muhammad Sajjad, Siraj Ahmed Jan, Javed Iqbal, Muhammad Anwar and Adil Nizam all promoted Upper Division Clerks filed the service appeals before the Federal Service Tribunal making grievance that they were bypassed and their juniors Muhammad Zubair Khan and Amir Mukhtar, directly appointed Upper Division Clerks, were promoted as Assistants (BPS‑11), disregarding the rule of seniority‑cum‑fitness as contemplated in the Recruitment Rules in Establishment Division's S.R.O. 248(1)88. Objection was raised before the Federal Service Tribunal that it had no jurisdiction to go into the question of fitness, which was repelled in view of the rulings mentioned in the impugned order of the Tribunal and the appeals were allowed with direction to the appellate authority to review the cases and pass appropriate orders.
2. The learned Deputy Attorney‑General contended before us that the Tribunal had no jurisdiction in respect of fitness and this question was considered by the Departmental Promotion Committee, which came to the conclusion that though the respondents were eligible for promotion but they were not fit. He produced before us the minutes of the Departmental promotion Committee, which have been perused by us. We are of the view that proper and cogent reasons have not been given for declaring respondent No.1 to be unfair and no reference has been made to their Annual Confidential Reports or any other Material supporting the factum of unfitness. Admittedly, the UDCs promoted are junior and no plausible reason has been given to justify their promotion over the heads of the others. Since the Tribunal has remanded the cases the appellate authority for fresh appropriate orders, we, in the interest of justice, decline to interfere with such order. In the result, leave is refused and the petitions are dismissed.
A.A./5‑1066/S Leave refused.