RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday ruled that mere recommendation for a civil award would not result in its entitlement and directed the federal government to devise a mechanism to ensure transparency in the selection process for the prestigious awards.

Justice Jawad Hassan made this observation while dismissing the petition of Khushdil Khan Malik, the director general Federal Government Educational Institutions (FGEI), Cantt/Garrison Directorate, Rawalpindi Cantonment.

The petitioner had argued before the court that he rendered services for the Pakistan government in various positions with higher responsibilities outside his cadre and obtained numerous achievements while serving the state as well as the citizens of Pakistan.

He said the Cabinet Division sought nominations of suitable persons in December 2021 from all the ministries/divisions, for the conferment of the award on Independence Day. The FGEI duly forwarded his name along with others for the said purpose, but the Ministry of Defence recommended only the names of the persons of their own choice, ignoring the FGEI’s recommendations.

Justice Hassan, after hearing the arguments, concluded that a mere recommendation for the Civil Award of Sitara-i-Imtiaz to the Ministry of Defence and Cabinet Division “does not entitle him to the award.”

The judge held that all awards were conferred by the president under Article 259 read with Decorations Act 1975. However, when names are invited from relevant agencies and authorities, they are forwarded by the parent division to the Cabinet Division, which then send them to the concerned committees for finalisation before the president confers them.

If the name is dropped initially by the division and is not forwarded to the Cabinet Division, then no right accrues. Dismissing the plea, the court observed that the petitioner had not approached the defence ministry or the Cabinet Division and had raised the issue after a period of six months.

Though Justice Hassan dismissed the petition, he issued the direction of forwarding the order to the secretary, Cabinet, secretary to the prime minister, Prime Minister’s Office, Secretary Ministry of Planning, Development & Reforms, Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Rawalpindi Cantt, and director general FGEI for preparing a proper mechanism or criteria about the recommendation process by the Agency/Authority with the proper citation as per the provisions of the Act [the Decorations Act, 1975] and the Instructions [General Instructions and Legal Provision for Making Recommendations for Pakistan Civil Awards] in order to avoid litigation.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2023