KARACHI: CSB told to reconsider cases of 3 IT officials
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, May 17: The Supreme Court dismissed as frivolous on Wednesday three petitions for leave to appeal against a high court order asking the central selection board of the federal government to reconsider the promotion cases of three Grade-20 officers of the income tax group.
A Sindh High Court division bench, comprising Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Ali Sain Dino Metlo, directed the selection board on April 6 to reconsider the promotion cases of Khan Matiur Rehman Khan, Iqbal Ahmed Jumani and Malik Bashir Ahmed in the light of guidelines set out by it in the order itself. It gave the respondent establishment division and the selection board two months for the exercise.The board took no step to reconvene its meeting and the establishment division allegedly proposed to notify the promotion of junior officers selected by it. Petitioner Matiur Rehman, who was described as ‘eminently qualified’ for promotion in a previous SHC order of May 2005, moved an application and the court restrained the establishment from issuing promotion notifications pending compliance with its order.The establishment division moved petitions for leave to challenge the SHC orders, which came up before an SC bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, and comprised Justices Abdul Hamid Dogar and Saiyed Saeed Ashhad. Advocates Dr M Farogh Naseem, Shahanshah Hussain and Mansoorul Haq Solangi entered caveats on behalf of the respondent officers and caused appearance before the bench.
Deputy Attorney-General Raja M Irshad submitted on behalf of the appellant division that the high court order had no jurisdiction to deal with service matters under Article 212 of the Constitution. No direction under Article 199 could be made in matters relating to terms and conditions of service of persons who are or have been in the service of Pakistan, which fell within the remit of administrative courts and service tribunals. The court could not substitute its own opinion with that of the selection board in the performance of its administrative functions.
The respondents’ counsel said the issue of jurisdiction had been settled in a number of judgments delivered by the superior courts and was no longer available to the petitioner. The executive had no unfettered discretion to hire and fire and promote and demote civil servants in accordance with its subjective opinion. The high court said in its guidelines that quality and output of work and moral and intellectual integrity should be crucial factors in promotion and this was strictly in conformity with the Estacode. In fact, the government was violating its own criteria and the court forbade it from doing so.
Dr Farogh Naseem said at least one of the respondents, Matiur Rehman, had a Federal Service Tribunal order in his favour but the FST had no authority to execute its orders or initiate contempt proceedings for non-compliance.
APPEALS DISMISSED: A Supreme Court bench, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar and Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad, on Wednesday dismissed two appeals filed by a convicted accused in a sectarian murder case, adds APP.
