PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court on Tuesday temporarily suspended a recent provincial government order of replacing controller examination of Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Kohat.

A bench consisting of Justice Mohammad Naeem Anwar and Justice Dr Khurshid Iqbal issued notices to special secretary to chief minister, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary, secretary of elementary and secondary education and other respondents, seeking their response to the plea of the replaced controller examination, Malik Maqsood Anwar.

The petitioner has challenged the March 14 notification of government about repatriating him back to higher education department before completion of his three-year term as controller of the board.

The petitioner requested the court to declare the impugned notification as illegal and direct the respondents to allow him to complete his normal tenure under the law.

Petitioner terms his removal illegal

The respondents in the petition are controlling authority of boards of intermediate and secondary education in the province through special secretary to chief minister, secretaries of higher education and elementary and secondary education departments, KP chief secretary and a subject specialist, Tahirullah, who had replaced the petitioner as controller.

Advocate Khalid Rahman appeared for the petitioner and stated that his client was an employee of higher education department (HED) serving as associate professor (BPS-19) and was promoted through a notification on Sep 19, 2024.

He said that the post of controller of examination of BISE Kohat was lying vacant in 2022 and for filling the same the petitioner, being an academician with appreciable service, was called for interview along with numerous other candidates by the search and scrutiny committee comprising different administrative secretaries.

He said that after a long process, the petitioner was recommended for appointment as controller of examination and was subsequently appointed on June 8, 2022, following observing all codal formalities for a period of three years on deputation.

He contended that after his appointment, the petitioner strived hard fulfil his responsibilities to the satisfaction of high-ups and there was never any complaint against him.

Mr Rahman stated that before completion of his tenure, through the impugned notification, the petitioner was repatriated to his parent department while a subject specialist Tahirullah of BPS-18 was posted in his place without following the set procedure and selection criterion.

He contended that the chairman of BISE Kohat through a letter on Feb 18, 2025, strongly recommended to the secretary of HED to allow the petitioner to continue with the post of the controller in the public interest.

He stated that the annual secondary examination of the board would start on April 8 in which around one laak students would participate. He added that around 70 examination papers were prepared under the supervision of the petitioner for the said examination.

The counsel stated that replacing the petitioner at such a crucial time was not a right step.

He argued that the petitioner had been appointed against a tenured post under the law and such tenure must be respected as already laid down by Supreme Court in one of its judgements delivered in 2013.

He said that the apex court had ruled when ordinary tenure for posting had been specified in the law or rules, such tenure must be respected and couldn’t be varied except for compelling reasons which should be recorded in writing.

He claimed that the replacement of the petitioner was based on political grounds.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2025