LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has endorsed the decision of Faisalabad’s University of Agriculture to proceed with disciplinary actions under the Peeda Act 2006 against an associate professor accused of workplace harassment.

Justice Raheel Kamran Sheikh delivered the verdict in response to the professor’s petition challenging the proceedings. “Harassment at the workplace has been one of the major contributing factors that hamper women from joining the workforce in Pakistan,” Justice Sheikh observed.

The court’s decision comes after the university issued a show-cause notice to the accused, Hassan Munir, under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (Peeda) Act 2006 for the alleged misconduct involving the harassment of a female student.

Advocate Malik Awais Khalid, representing Mr Munir, argued that the case fell under a federal law — The Protection Against Harass­ment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010 — which he said superseded the provincial Peeda Act.

LHC rules Peeda Act can be invoked on charges against a govt employee

The lawyer, citing Article 143 of the Constitution, argued that since Mr Munir was accused of harassment, the proceedings against him should have been conducted under the federal act.

Article 143, titled “Inconsistency between Federal and Provincial Law”, states that federal law should always take precedence over the provincial in case of a conflict, and the conflicting part of the provincial law would be considered invalid.

However, a government law officer maintained that the Peeda Act was appropriately applied, insisting that Article 143 did not prevent actions consistent with the 2010 federal act.

In his remarks, Justice Sheikh highlighted the significance of the federal act in safeguarding women against workplace harassment and its role in reforming the legislation related to women’s right to work in the country.

At the same time, he also acknowledged the Peeda Act’s focus on government employees’ conduct, efficiency, discipline and accountability.

Justice Sheikh stressed that proceedings under the federal act did not exclude the possibility of proceedings under any other law.

There was no illegality or jurisdictional error in proceedings against the petitioner if the allegation fell within the scope and ambit of the Peeda Act, he said.

However, he underscored that in instances of inconsistency between federal and provincial laws, federal provisions would take precedence.

Justice Sheikh disposed of the petition, ruling that the university may proceed against the petitioner under the Peeda Act but should adhere to federal law in case of any legal conflicts.

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2023