HYDERABAD, April 9: The Hyderabad circuit bench of the Sindh High Court on Monday issued notices to Sindh minister for local bodies, additional chief secretary (local government), Hyderabad Development Authority (HDA) and three executive engineers (XENs) on a constitutional petition filed by two HDA officers.

Te petitioners Anjum Saeed and Waseem Ahmed Khan prayed the court to direct ACS (LG) and HDA to consider their case of seniority over respondent XENs.

They said that their services were regularised by departmental promotion and selection board on Nov 12, 1988, and after sometime under the prime minister's five points programme respondents executive engineers, Mohammad Shafiq, Shahid Pervez and M. Bashir Awan were appointed against temporary leave and training reserve post.

They said that the HDA was a statutory corporation but its service rules for employees were not statutory in nature nor its employees could be termed as civil servants. Regularisation of Ad hoc Appointments Act 1989 was promulgated whereby services of civil servants were regularised. On a query from ACS (LG) it was submitted by secretary HDA that the act was only for civil servants, mentioned under Civil Servants Act and was not applicable to the employees of HAD.

Despite this clarification, ACS (LG) directed the HDA to regularise service of the respondents under Civil Servants (Regularisation of ad hoc appointments) Act 1989.

The petitioners who were employed prior to the three respondents were legitimately entitled to a senior position but with ulterior motive, respondents were shown senior to them in a list dated Sept 18,1995, which was subsequently withdrawn by the governing body of HDA.

They said that the respondents made a representation which was rejected by HDA and consequently the petitioners were declared senior to them.

They said that then another seniority list was issued on March 9, 2004 which was though tentative but accepted respondents as seniors to them.

They said that it had been learnt that after a lapse of considerable time Sindh minister for local bodies declared respondents senior to the petitioners and said that the letter issued already was not served on the petitioners nor were they consulted before declaring them junior to the respondents.