PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court has temporarily stopped the provincial government from taking any adverse action against 164 employees of the law department, whose recruitment process in 2021 was recommended for cancellation by an inquiry committee.

A bench consisting of Justice Mohammad Naeem Anwar and Justice Dr Khurshid Iqbal issued notices to the secretary and director general of the law and parliamentary affairs department seeking their comments within a fortnight to a petition jointly filed by the said employees, against the recommendations of the said inquiry committee as well as subsequent orders issued for stoppage of their salaries and recovery of the already received salaries during last four years.

The petitioners include several computer operators including Waqas Akram, etc, junior clerks, drivers, naib qasid, chowkidars (watchmen) and sweepers.

They have requested the court to declare as illegal the recommendations of the inquiry committee of Oct 3, 2024; a letter of the law secretary to the DG of May 7 asking the latter to stop the salaries of the petitioners and recover the already paid salaries and to fill their posts through proper legal process; and, a letter of the DG of May 8 to the district drawing and disbursement officers asking them to stop the petitioners’ salaries.

Petitioners challenge inquiry committee’s recommendations of recruitment process cancellation

Advocate Khalid Rahman appeared for the petitioners and stated that the posts on which his clients had been appointed were properly advertised and subsequently tests and interviews were conducted for the same in 2021.

He contended that their appointments were made purely on merit on the recommendations of the concerned selection committee and since then they had been in service with effect from Feb 12, 2021 and April 9, 2021.

He stated that certain unsuccessful candidates had challenged the said appointments in the high court, wherein some of the present petitioners were also made respondents.

He stated that in view of a judgment delivered by the high court in that petition on April 11, 2023, an inquiry was conducted wherein certain irregularities in the appointment process were pointed out and it was recommended that the petitioners were not appointed in accordance with law.

He stated that the inquiry committee constituted by the provincial government had recommended different penalties against the chairman, Dr Asad Ali Khan, and members of the said selection committee under the KP Government Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules.

Along with the said recommendations, he stated, the Inquiry Committee had also made several other recommendations including cancellation of the recruitment process.

Mr Rahman argued that the recommendations of the inquiry committee with regard to the cancellation of the recruitment process was beyond its mandate as the committee was constituted only to proceed against the members of the selection committee.

He argued that the petitioners were never associated with the said inquiry proceedings nor they were provided opportunity of defense to explain their position, which was against the principle of natural justice.

The counsel stated that the inquiry committee had also recommended for the stoppage of the salary of the petitioners and recovery of the past salaries received by them during their more than 4 years of service.

He pointed out that in pursuance of the said recommendations the two impugned letters were issued by the secretary and director general law on May 7 and May 8, respectively.

He argued that the inquiry officers had highlighted certain irregularities on part of the selection and scrutiny committees, which were mostly technical in nature and didn’t reflect any foul play on part of the petitioners.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2025