KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Monday declared that the Provincial Management Service (PMS) Rules 2018 were ultra vires to the Constitution, civil servants’ law and against the principles laid down in the judgements of the apex court.

A two-judge bench comprising Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro and Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon observed that the PMS Rules in fact had conferred absolute discretion on the government to post any PMS officer to any cadre post regardless of his/her eligibility or qualification.

About those who passed the Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) and were allocated Ex-PCS cadre/assistant commissioner and issued offer letters as PMS officers, the bench declared: “These offer letters are against the law and the chief secretary is directed to ensure that successful candidates are allocated to the Ex-PCS cadre as per merit immediately.”

The bench in its judgement further said, “We are cognizant of the fact that the Sindh Government inspite of the restraining order passed at times continued appointing officers under PMS Rules. Those officers who have passed the Combined Competitive Examination through SPSC be examined again by SPSC on the touchstone of the 1962 and 1964 Rules of Ex-PCS and PSS to evaluate their merit as was practiced earlier before coming into force the PMS Rules and allocate their Cadre on the merit.”

“Once the SPSC has completed the exercise the officers shall be sent for routine training as provided under rules and this shall be done by the department concerned on the recommendation of SPSC within 15 days of the communication of this judgement,” it added.

Sindh govt attempted to politicise civil service structure in the garb of creating a new service, rules SHC

However, the bench said that any other officer of an equivalent post appointed as a PMS officer would immediately be sent to his/her parent department as if he/she was never appointed as a PMS officer.

It directed the chief secretary to ensure compliance of the judgement and issue requisite notifications and file a compliance report through member inspection team-II of the SHC.

Initially, various Ex-PCS officers challenged the vires of the Sindh Civil Servants (Provincial Management Service) Rules, 2018 (PMS Rules-2018) and in August 2021, the SHC allowed their petition and declared the PMS Rules 2018 as ultra vires to the Constitution.

Therefore, the PSS officers being aggrieved by the judgement of SHC had filed an appeal and in September 2022, the Supreme Court had set aside the judgement and remanded the matter back to the SHC with a direction for a decision afresh after hearing all the parties and an opportunity should be given to advocate general to address the court as well since the Sindh government was a necessary party in the matter.

In the light of the SC’s order, the SHC heard the Sindh government as well as all other parties concerned and again allowed the petitions against the PMS Rules.

The bench observed that it respected the constitutional restraint and would not comment on submissions of the provincial law officer and others about the PMS Rules applicable in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

“We, however, are of the considered view that framing of PMS Rules by the Sindh Government actually defies the judgements of the Supreme Court and an attempt has been made under the garb of creating new service, with the sole object, to politicise the Civil Service Structure again. The Sindh Government’s similar action was nullified earlier by the Supreme Court in the cases of Contempt Proceedings against Chief Secretary Sindh and others and Ali Azhar Khan Baloch,” the bench ruled.

The SHC further observed that on one side the Ex-PCS and PSS cadres had been declared dying cadres (abolished) and on the other hand the PMS officers would be posted against different posts meant for the said cadres.

“No job description has been provided nor is any mechanism for their posting provided, which ex-facie reflects malice on the part of the Sindh Government. What is further amazing is that in the definition clause of PMS Rules Ex-PCS and PSS cadres have merged as service groups separately both the cadres have been abolished,” the bench observed.

The judgement also noted that the Supreme Court in its judgements held that the law did not confer such powers upon a provincial assembly to change the structure of service law in conflict with the provisions of Article 240(b) or Article 242(1B) while in the case at hand, the PMS Rules 2018 in complete contrast had changed the basic structure of service law under the garb of new service.

“The PMS officers comprise of three classes (i) assistant commissioner (ii) section officer and (iii) any other officer holding the equivalent post. The PMS Rules have not defined the term ‘Any other officer’ nor the term ‘equivalent post’. Even these two terms have not been defined in the parent statute i.e. SCS Act, 1973. This fact alone leads to the conclusion that the Sindh Government intended to appoint by transfer and or by absorption those officers, who were never eligible to be posted on the cadre posts mentioned in the schedule-I, which were meant for Ex-PCS cadre or PSS cadre,” it added.

The SHC observed that the PMS Rules in fact provided a window to the blue-eyed officers of the Sindh government to be inducted in the PMS services in complete defiance of the judgements of the Supreme Court.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2023