PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court has rejected a petition against the holding of the post of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly special secretary by an officer and his promotion first to BPS-20 and then to BPS-21 within a year.

A bench consisting of Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Farah Jamshed ruled that the petitioner had failed to point out with requisite specificity any provision of law or rule that was violated either at the time of appointing respondent Syed Wiqar Shah or in the matter of his promotion.

“In the absence of such specific legal foundation, the issuance of a writ of quo warranto is wholly unwarranted,” it ruled.

The petition was filed by lawyer Ali Azim Afridi, requesting the court to ask special secretary Syed Wiqar Shah under what authority he had been holding the post in BPS-20 and then in BPS-21 as the special secretary as it was contrary to law.

PHC declares appointment, promotion orders not issued in contravention of law

The petitioner had challenged the two notifications of the KP Assembly speaker issued on May 25, 2024 and Jan 17, 2025, whereby the special secretary was promoted to BPS-20 and BPS-21, respectively.

Discussing different aspects of the case in detail, the bench ruled in its 22 pages detailed judgement: “Thus, upon a thorough examination of the record before us, we are unable to find that the appointing authority lacked the requisite jurisdiction to appoint or promote respondent No. 1; that respondent No 1 did not possess any essential educational or professional qualification prescribed for the post; that any express statutory bar or mandatory rule relating to appointment, promotion, or upgradation stood violated; or that the impugned notifications were issued in direct contravention of any specific law.”

The respondents including the assembly’s speaker, Mr Shah and others were represented by Shumail Ahmad Butt, Bashir Khan Wazir, Barrister Ibrahim Khan Afridi and Waqar Ahmad Khan.

They contended that the petition was not maintainable and was liable to be dismissed. They contended that the petitioner had gone personal with the respondent (Mr Shah) and had frequently been filing cases against him.

The bench observed that in proceedings seeking a writ of quo warranto, it was incumbent upon the petitioner, in the first instance, to establish clear legal and factual grounds showing that the appointment or occupation of the public office was contrary to law.

“It is only upon the disclosure of such prima facie illegality that the onus shifts to the respondent to justify his claim to the office. Bald or general allegations, unsupported by reference to any specific statutory violation or lack of an essential qualification, do not furnish a sufficient basis for invoking the quo warranto jurisdiction of this Court.”

The bench further observed that although the petitioner relies heavily on the earlier judgement of the court of Nov 13, 2018, whereby the earlier deputation/absorption of the respondent (Mr Shah) was declared illegal, but the respondent was subsequently appointed afresh through a notification on Oct 11, 2019, after having applied for the post when it was advertised in the newspapers.

“Petitioner has neither directly assailed the fresh appointment made thereafter nor pointed to any specific statutory provision that was violated in the subsequent recruitment and promotion processes now under challenge. At best, these assertions amount to allegations of procedural and administrative impropriety,” it observed.

The bench added that the petitioner had not identified violation of any specific recruitment rule, statutory requirement, or mandatory condition at the time of appointment or promotion of the respondent to BPS-20 and BPS-21.

“The mere fact that an earlier arrangement concerning respondent No. 1 was struck down by this court in earlier W.P No. 2512-P of 2018 does not, by itself, render every later appointment or promotion defective in law, unless a separate and distinct illegality is demonstrated,” the read the judgement authored by Justice Farah Jamshed.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2026