HYDERABAD: A BS-20 officer of the Liaquat University Hospital (LUH), Abdul Sattar Jatoi, has finally lost his appeal in Supreme Court on the basis of which he had been maintaining his multiple important posts and dominating all administrative affairs of the hospital.

With the dismissal of his appeal, the Sindh Services Tribunal’s Sept 22, 2020 decision demoting him to BS-19 stands upheld.

According to his counsel, Aqil Awan, we have the option of a review. Now it is for the appellant to decide if he wants to go for a review. He said that SC pronounced its verdict on Jan 10.

Mr Jatoi had been holding this position for quite some time. Whenever he was transferred, no other officer was posted by the health department.

Services tribunal had already found it a ‘unique case of favouritism, nepotism’

An applicant, Ali Abbas Khoso, while working in the Peoples Medical College Hospital, Nawabshah, had challenged Mr Jatoi’s promotion to BPS-20 in the Sindh Services Tribunal, which eventually reverted him to BS-19.

Mr Khoso had contended that Mr Jatoi was junior to him in the department and they were promoted to the post of deputy district officer (planning & development) and then district officer administration, accounts and development on Jan 27, 2010. He stated that Mr Jatoi managed to get himself placed in the surplus pool of the SGA&CD (Services, General Administration and Coordination Department) vide a notification dated Nov 7, 2012.

On Jan 10, 2013, Mr Jatoi got himself absorbed in the provincial secretariat service group but he was relieved from there in line with SC’s verdict against absorptions. However, he did not return to the health department and, instead, stayed in the surplus pool of the SGA&CD vide a notification dated July 2, 2013.

He was then absorbed in education department as project director. Later, he was repatriated to the health department under SC’s order in a case filed by Mehar Ali Dayo.

Mr Jatoi then moved an application to the Sindh chief secretary for accommodating him in a non-cadre post at the LUH by redesignating the existing clinical side post of additional medical superintendent (BS-19) as director administration, accounts and development.

Mr Khoso argued that in 2017, a new post of director administration, accounts and development BS-19 was created and Mr Jatoi was promoted to that post on June 1, 2018. He said he (Mr Khoso) kept serving in BS-19.

Mr Khoso told Dawn on phone that he had recently retired from service. He said the tribunal had in its order termed it “a unique case of favouritism and nepotism” and found it to be in violation of SC’s 2013 judgement.

The tribunal ruled that the surplus pool was to be created in the health department as per SC’s directive where seniority of appellant and respondent was to be maintained. Therefore, Mr Jatoi’s move to get himself placed in SGA&CD surplus pool was a violation of the SC order. Redesignation of clinical post of LUH and making him director administration, accounts and development was also a violation of SC verdict and it was done as per the choice of respondent, Abdul Sattar Jatoi.

“Creation of same post in BS-20 was also for him [Jatoi] alone as rule framed in that respect made only director (administration, accounts & development) BS-19 eligible for newly created post and his batch-mates had no right to be considered for promotion,” the tribunal said.

The tribunal’s judgement was authored by retired Justice Mohammad Sadiq Leghari.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2022