HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad circuit bench of the Sindh High Court has suspended the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) Act, 1989, in its present form declaring it ultra vires to the Constitution, and cancelled job test results of medical officers and Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) held in 2018.
The division bench comprising Justices Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan and Mohammad Saleem Jessar passed a common judgment on six identical petitions, which had been reserved on May 19 and announced on Thursday.
The judgment suspended the SPSC Act, 1989, (in its present form) and two other enactments governing the SPSC and cancelled results of 1,783 posts of medical officers (BS-17) purported to be appointed under July 19, 2018, advertisement, as well as results and proceedings of CCE 2018.
The court ordered that the SPSC website (where none of the laws, rules or regulations pertaining to the commission were made available) be immediately taken off the internet.
The court said: “It seems that while the courts finish rendering one judgment fixing an impropriety in SPSC, new illegalities confront us. Through this judgment, we wish to address this continuous issue, how we ended up here and how can this problem be fixed.”
The court observed that SPSC Act 1989 was enacted for no constitutionally compelling reasons in the presence of Sindh Civil Servants (Appointment, Promotion & Transfer) Rules 1974, Sindh Civil Servants (Probation, Confirmation and Seniority) Rules 1975, Sindh Civil Servants Act 1973, and half a dozen identical laws.
Whereas the province (to a great extent) had been well served by honest, qualified and motivated civil servants before 1989 when this institution in its present form was born — according to one view — to serve as “one window facility to foster wholesale corruption”, it said, adding that the institution had hence lost every shred of legitimacy and ought to be brought to a nullity in its present form.
The court observed: “In order to ensure merit and transparency in the process of CCE 2020 examination, the said exam should be held at Karachi under the supervision of learned official assignee and at Sukkur, Hyderabad and Larkana under the supervision of additional registrar of Sukkur bench, circuit courts of Hyderabad and Larkana, respectively.”
It ruled: “Learned official assignee and learned additional registrars of the court shall ensure that entire process of CCE 2020 examination is held strictly in accordance with law, relevant rules and regulations and directives of Supreme Court vide March 13, 2017 judgment in a suo motu case (No. 18/2016) particularly sub-paragraphs 7 to 12, 14 and 15 of paragraph 26 [in the Sindh High Court petition No. 8033/2019].”
The court ruled that implementation of SPSC Act 1989 (in its present form) being ultra vires to the Constitution, SPSC (Appointment of Chairman and Member) Rules 2017 being violative of Sindh Government Rules of Business 1986 and SPSC (Functions) Rules 1990 being ultra vires to the SPSC Act 1989 were suspended forthwith.
The court ordered that all tests, interviews, selections, appointments, tenders etc or any act doable under SPSC Act 1989 or rules and regulations made thereunder were suspended.
The court said that in case the provincial government wished to re-enact the laws, it should draw some inspiration from such laws enacted in developed countries like Australia or New Zealand to deliver the premise of “right man/woman for the right job” without fear or favour.
In the meanwhile, the court ruled, all new recruitments be made strictly on merit in the same manner as those appointments that were made prior to the enactment of SPSC Act 1989 as if the said act never existed. The court said that copy of this order should be sent to all heads of departments.
Sajjad Ahmed Chandio and Arshad Pathan advocates represented petitioners. Ishrat Lohar appeared on behalf of respondents. Sindh’s Additional Advocate General Allah Bachayo and Deputy Attorney General Mohammad Humayoon Khan also appeared in the case.
Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2021