KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has ordered the maintenance of status quo on two petitions filed against the exam process and declaration of results of Combined Competitive Examination (CCE-2024) conducted by the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC).

A two judge-constitutional bench of the SHC headed by Justice Riazat Ali Sahar also issued a notice to the advocate general of Sindh to assist it about maintainability of both the petitions filed against the examination process and results of CCE-2024.

It also directed the provincial law officer to apprise it at the next hearing regarding the current status of the appeals filed against the earlier orders of the SHC about CCE-2024 and pending before the Federal Constitutional Court and whether the order of the FCC is causing any hurdle for the hearing.

Citing the chief secretary of Sindh, the SPSC and others as respondents, Zameer Hussain, Mukaram and others have petitioned the SHC and submitted that they did not qualify the written examination and impugned the examination process and declaration of the results.

SHC asks provincial law officer to apprise court whether an FCC order is causing any hurdle for SHC hearing

The bench noted that the SHC had ordered sealing of the examination record, suspending the results and restraining the SPSC from further proceedings as well as production of answer scripts of unsuccessful candidates for reassessment through various interim orders passed in May and June on petitions pertaining to the CCE-2024.

However, it also observed that the provincial government and the SPSC had challenged these orders and on July 15, the FCC had suspended operation of all such orders of the SHC.

The bench in its order further said that in these two petitions, the petitioners insisted that such pleas had arisen from a fresh and independent cause of action, distinct from the petitions filed earlier about the CCE-2024.

According to the petitioners, the grievances now raised concern to their individual rights arising from the impugned examination process and declaration of results, and did not seek enforcement or revival of the interim directions earlier passed by the SHC whose operation stands suspended by the FCC, it added.

The bench said, “Mere similarity of subject matter namely CCE-2024, would not, by itself, necessarily establish identity of causes of action. Nevertheless, whether the petitioners have demonstrated a genuinely fresh and distinct cause of action, and whether the reliefs claimed can be considered without encroaching upon the subsisting order dated 15-07-2026, are matters requiring examination with reference to the respective pleadings, prayers and subsequent developments”.

It also noted that the immediate question was whether and to what extent these petitions may proceed consistently with the FCC’s subsisting order while such order was binding upon all other courts.

“The binding force of a legal principle and the obligation to respect an operative judicial direction must be kept distinct. This court must ascertain whether the relief now sought overlaps with, or would effectively revive, the directions whose operation stands suspended,” it added.

The bench further observed that as per some judgments of the Supreme Court, mere pendency of further proceedings did not itself stay an impugned order and in the present matter an express suspension order existed and its scope, the identity of questions pending before the FCC and their bearing upon the instant petitions required clarification before determination of maintainability.

The FCC in its order passed last month reaffirmed judicial discipline and distinguished review of legality and procedural fairness from substitution of judicial opinion for academic assessment, it added.

Therefore, the bench put the AG Sindh on notice for Thursday (today) to assist it regarding maintainability of petitions and the legal effect of the order in question passed by the FCC. “Meanwhile, status quo be maintained till next date of hearing”, it added.

The bench also directed the AG to file a written statement about present status of the appeals pending before the FCC and whether the order of the FCC stands in the way of hearing these petitions and the stand of the province as well as SPSC on petitioners’ claims including the remedies available to them under the regulations of 2023.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2026