KARACHI, April 26: The Federal Service Tribunal reinstated on Tuesday a railway employee with effect from December 2001 and with back benefits for the period he was not gainfully employed elsewhere. Appellant Ghulam Nabi joined the Pakistan Railways in basic pay scale 7 in 1981 and earned promotion to BPS 11 in June 2001. He was working as commercial assistant (booking) at Hyderabad when he was dismissed later that year. The main charge against him was his own service record, according to which he was proceeded against and awarded minor and major penalties 17 times till 1996.

His counsel, Mohammad Nawaz Shaikh, argued that the past inquiries were a closed chapter. He was adequately punished for the alleged misconduct and no additional penalty could be inflicted on him for past misconduct. He was not issued a final show notice to show cause against his removal nor given personal hearing. The counsel cited a number of superior court judgments in favour of his contentions.

The FST bench comprising Qazi Mohammad Hussain Siddiqui and Rashid Ali Mirza observed that a final show cause notice was essential even if not specifically provided for the Removal from Service (Special Powers) Ordinance, 2000. No action against the appellant was taken since 1996 and there was no justification for the belated proceedings under the new ordinance.

Reinstating the appellant with retrospective effect, the tribunal, however, allowed the railways to proceed against him afresh in accordance with the law.