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KARACHI, Oct 18: A division bench of the Sindh High Court on Friday suspended the impugned order whereby the Federal Public Service Commission was scheduled to take the NIPA Entrance Examinations on the 21st of this month in Islamabad for the promotion of officers from grade 19 to 20.
The bench comprised Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Amir Hani Muslim.
The interim order was passed in a constitutional petition filed by M/s Shahid Fawad and 16 other officers, Inspecting Additional Commissioners of Income Tax in grade 19, who had challenged the NIPA Entrance Examinations.
Counsel for the petitioners, Dr Barrister Mohammad Farogh Naseem contended that the very holding of the examinations was completely extraneous to the rules and regulations and beyond the powers of the respondents.
He contended that the examinations were scheduled on Oct 21 in Islamabad and unless and until the court suspended the operation of the impugned order, grave prejudice would be caused to his clients since the very holding of the examinations had been challenged.
He submitted that the policy of the government was discriminatory and there would be some persons taking the examinations and some other abstaining therefrom, which would give rise not only to discrimination but would also disturb promotion and seniority.
Dr Naseem also contended that for one petitioner the Peshawar High Court, sitting at Abbottabad, had suspended the impugned order and hence an interim order of general nature was imperative.
In the constitutional petition Barrister Farogh Naseem called into question the power and authority to hold the examinations since the petitioners had already cleared the departmental examinations and hence any further promotional examinations would be nothing but double jeopardy.
He has also stated that the very nature of the examinations had been called into question on grounds that the petitioners came from a specialist cadre and thus they could not be subjected to general promotional examinations and also the type of questions being set by the FPSC were totally irrelevant to the training undertaken by the petitioners and utterly unreasonable.
He also contended in the petition that the examinations would disturb the regional quota entrenched in the Constitution and the condition to dismiss petitioners from service for failure to take and clear the examination was totally unjust and unconstitutional.
No one appeared on behalf of the respondents despite a clear date having been given by the High Court. The matter has now been fixed on Nov 7.
HEARING PUT OFF: A division bench of the Sindh High Court put off on Friday the hearing of a constitutional petition seeking possession of the bodies of two foreign nationals who were killed in an encounter with law-enforcing agencies in Defence on Sept 11, to Oct 30, adds APP.
The bench consisted of Chief Justice Sayed Saeed Ashhad and Justice Ghulam Rabbani.
Earlier, Additional Advocate-General Sindh Sarwar Khan, appearing for the state, submitted that the bodies had been buried in accordance with Islamic principles.
Khawaja Naveed Ahmed, counsel for petitioner Abdul Rafique Afghani, the editor of a local daily, contested the veracity of the statement, and said police should be asked to disclose the place where the bodies had been buried and also the name of the man who led the funeral prayers of the dead men.
The AAG said such details could not be given for security reasons.
The arguments were continuing when the court put off the hearing to Oct 30 for want of time.
Another bench of the SHC, comprising Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Amir Hani Muslim, restrained the city government from taking action against a petitioner, Asif Hayat, till Oct 29 while issuing notices.
Earlier, Akhtar Jamal submitted that the petitioner entered an agreement with the parks department and a plot measuring 1,000 square yards was given to him on a monthly rent of Rs1,000 to develop a nursery.
He submitted that now the Town Nazim of Malir was pressuring him to vacate the land. He feared that he would be dispossessed of the land causing him a huge financial loss.
