ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Wednesday suspended a series of interim orders of different dates issued by the Sindh High Court (SHC) in connection with the Combined Competitive Examination (CCE)-2024 conducted by the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC).
Headed by Chief Justice Ameen-ud-Din Khan and comprising Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and Justice Rozi Khan Barrech, a three-judge bench passed the interim order while hearing petitions filed by the SPSC and the Sindh government challenging the legality of the high court’s interim orders.
Advocate Hafiz Ehsaan Ahmad Khokhar represented the SPSC, while an additional advocate general, Sindh represented the provincial government.
At the outset of the hearing, the SPSC lawyer submitted that the impugned orders reflected an unprecedented judicial intrusion into an ongoing constitutional recruitment process on the basis of mere allegations levelled by unsuccessful candidates without any prior determination of their legal validity.
Relief came on appeals filed by Sindh govt, Sindh Public Service Commission
He argued that the SHC had effectively exercised a suo motu jurisdiction, which it did not possess under the Constitution, and had granted sweeping ex-parte interim relief against a constitutional institution without first issuing mandatory notices to the SPSC and the Sindh government.
He contended that the writ petitions were not maintainable as an adequate and efficacious alternate statutory remedy was available to the petitioners under Regulation 161 of the Recruitment Management Regulations, 2023.
According to the counsel, despite repeated objections regarding maintainability, the SHC proceeded to assume jurisdiction and granted extensive interim relief without first deciding the question of maintainability or determining whether any enforceable fundamental right had been infringed.
The SPSC counsel argued that the interim directions virtually amounted to final relief, despite the existence of disputed questions of fact, which could not legally be determined in constitutional proceedings at the interlocutory stage.
He maintained that the impugned orders travelled beyond the constitutional limits prescribed under Article 199 of the Constitution and were therefore wholly without lawful authority, coram non judice and liable to be suspended by the FCC in exercise of its constitutional jurisdiction.
Giving details of the examination process, the counsel informed FCC that the CCE-2024 had been conducted in a transparent, fair and merit-based manner strictly in accordance with the Constitution, the SPSC Act, 2022, the Recruitment Management Regulations, 2023 and the notified syllabus.
He submitted that a total of 26,742 candidates had applied for the examination. Out of them, 17,290 candidates appeared in the screening test, while 11,179 qualified to appear in the written examination.
Subsequently, 4,340 candidates appeared in the written examination conducted between December 22 and Dec 29, 2025 and only 70 candidates fulfilled the prescribed qualifying criteria, whereas 4,270 candidates, including those filed petitions before the SHC, failed to secure the minimum qualifying marks.
Supporting the petitions, a provincial law officer submitted that the impugned interim orders were beyond the constitutional jurisdiction of the SHC, adversely affected the functioning of the SPSC and the provincial administration, and deserved to be suspended pending final adjudication.
After hearing arguments advanced by counsel for the parties, the FCC suspended the operation of the SHC’s interim orders dated May 14, May 21, June 9, June 17, June 22 and June 30.
Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2026