PESHAWAR, Feb 26: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday directed the provincial home department to introduce service structure for the officials of probation and reclamation directorate by ensuring early approval of official summary in this regard.

A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice Mrs Irshad Qaiser fixed March 21 for next hearing with the direction that till that time the government should approve the summary.

The bench observed that apparently it was violation of Article 25 of the Constitution that other government setups under the provincial home department were having their service structures whereas officials of probation directorate, which was also under the home department, had been denied that right.

The bench observed that it was regrettable that a probation officer continued to serve for over 25 years, but without any hope for any promotion or proper benefits after retirement.

Additional advocate general Naveed Akhter informed the bench that the government had approved a summary for creation of three posts of assistant directors, including one female, in the directorate. He added that the summary about the service structure was sent for approval of the chief minister, but the provincial finance department returned it with certain observations. He assured the bench that those observations would be addressed within next few days and the summary would be moved for approval.

The chief justice asked the AAG that during previous hearing on Jan 9 he had said that the summary would be passed, but now there was further delay in the matter. The bench directed the home department to depute a senior officer so that he could address the finance department’s reservations.

The bench was hearing a writ petition filed by female probation officers requesting the court to order framing of service structure for them.

Later, some of the male probation officers also requested the bench that they had been facing the same problem. They said that some of the male officials had been working for last two decades in the same scale.