May 17, 2002	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 4, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, May 16: The Supreme Court on Thursday observed that the Sui Southern Gas Company was handling the issue of educated persons inducted in the company callously.

Justice Munir A. Sheikh, head of the three judges bench, stated that it was generally observed that the company was handling the case of 4,500 employees callously. The observation was made when it was pointed out that the company after employing 4,500 employees during the PPP government, had dismissed majority of them and the remaining were also being pushed out.

Advocate Akram Sheikh, counsel for some of them, said that their only fault was that they were employed during the PPP government and they all belonged to Sindh.

Barrister Jamil, counsel for the SSGC, who was present in the case, said that the impression was wrong. He said that the government organizations were not meant for accommodating the unemployed people and could not sustain the burden of thousands of people.

The court, however, allowed 130 such persons whose services were terminated to file their review petition jointly. Their review petition was returned by the Supreme Court office, saying that every petitioner should submit Rs10,000 as security fee.

In another case the court directed the management of the SSGC not to take adverse action against 79 petitioners during the pendency of the petitions. The court, however, ordered that their case would be fixed for hearing in the first week of June.