SC admonishes Establishment Division: Mishandling of seniority issue
By Our Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD, Feb 22: The Supreme Court on Tuesday censured the Establishment Division for mishandling the seniority matters and directed the ED to follow rules and ensure rights of smaller provinces in job quotas.
The apex court observed that the Establishment Division exercised powers that were never conferred upon it while dealing with seniority matters of sections officers of different departments.
"This is a classic example of mishandling of the situation, but no body seems to bother," Justice Javed Iqbal observed. He added that the basic principle of good governance was to follow rules.
A three-member bench, comprising Chief Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, Justice Javed Iqbal and Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, was hearing similar appeals of 31 section officers, including the petitioner, Hamidul Hussain, against determination of their seniority by the Division.
The seniority position of the petitioner was jeopardized when he was inducted in the Office Management Group (OMG) as section officer after remaining on deputation for over a decade.
The Establishment Division maintained that the applicant's seniority would be reckoned from the date of induction in the OMG. Had the Establishment Division taken appropriate measures in time, the Supreme Court would not have been facing this controversy, Chief Justice Siddiqui observed.
Pointing towards the Establishment Division Additional Secretary Hifzur Rehman, the CJP observed that his predecessors were certainly guilty of inefficiency while handling the matter.
Justice Cheema asked the additional secretary to cite rule under which these officers remained on deputation for 10 years. He also directed the Establishment Division to ensure rights of smaller provinces, like Balochistan, in job quotas through strict adherence to rules and regulations.
The bench adjourned the hearing for Wednesday, and also directed the additional secretary to be present in the court. The petitioner, Hamidul Hussain, was represented by Advocate Akram Sheikh, while Deputy Attorney-General Nasir Saeed Sheikh appeared on behalf of the Establishment Division.
Mr Hussain was appointed assistant director in the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) on July 23, 1988. On November 22, 1988, the Establishment Division recommended his appointment as section officer in the Ministry of Food and Agriculture's Research Division on deputation. The petitioner took charge of the new office on June 15, 1989.
Later, four section officers were inducted in the OMG on deputation and their seniority was determined from their date of encadrement in the OMG, ignoring other 31 officers, including the petitioner, who were also on deputation. Mr Hussain then approached the competent authority, requesting induction in the OMG from the date of his deputation.
After failing to get relief, he filed an appeal before the Federal Services Tribunal (FST), pleading that the Establishment Division was inducting/regularizing a number of section officers coming from other occupational groups in the OMG against the 10 per cent quota, but each time the petitioner was left out.
His appeal was accepted by the FST, but the order was challenged by the Establishment Division before the Supreme Court, which remanded the appeal back to the FST. The tribunal later reversed its earlier decision. The appellants then challenged the decision before the Supreme Court.
