04 July 2004	Sunday	15 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

KARACHI, July 3: A full bench of Supreme Court of Pakistan, comprising Justice Iftekhar Choudhry, Justice Rana Bhagwandas and Justice Syed Deedar Hussain Shah , on Friday dismissed leave to appeal filed by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and the Pakistan Design Institute (PDI), Karachi.

The appellants made Shahida Sajideen and other five employees respondents in the appeal. The appellants impugned a judgement by the Federal Services Tribunal (FST) which requires of the appellants to pay amount of Contributory Provident Fund to respondents.

According to details, the PDI seized functioning on June 1, 1999, and respondents services were terminated on June 30, 1999.

The respondents/ employees moved the Federal Ombudsman against their removal and non-payment of their dues. The Federal Ombudsman, deciding the applications, directed the EPB and the PDI to settle the accounts of the provident fund of the respondents/applicants. The employees were also asked to seek remedy from the FST having jurisdiction in the matter.

The employees moved the FST which by an order held that amount of employees was deducted at source by the employer, and, therefore, they are entitled to get full contributory provident fund.

The bench after hearing the standing counsel, Mehmood Alam Rizvi, who appeared for the EPB and defunct the PDI, dismissed the leave to appeals in limine ordering that appellants have no right to hold back the money from the contributory provident fund.-APP