Govt lawyers given last chance to comment on contract appointments to JPMC, NICVD, NICH

A Sindh High Court constitutional bench on Wednesday took exception to the non-filing of comments by the federal and provincial governments on an application against contract appointments to the National Institute of Child Health (NICH), Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD).

The three-member bench headed by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha observed that federal and provincial law officers were given time on November 11 last year to file comments on the petition and relevant application and informed that in case of non-filing of comments the matter would be heard on the basis of the available record.

It said the federal and provincial law officers once again sought further time to file comments, a request which was completely unjustified and it appeared that the sluggish conduct was delaying the disposal of the petition.

The court gave the last chance to the law officers to file comments, observing that in the event they failed to do so no further time shall be granted to them. It adjourned the hearing till January 15.

Employees of the three Karachi hospitals who challenged the handing over of these facilities under the federal government’s administrative and financial control to the Sindh government for 25 years submitted in the application that the provincial and federal governments, instead of filing comments, were making further appointments to the hospitals on a contract basis in violation of the law and Supreme Court judgments.

The applicants’ counsel submitted that thetotal work force at the JPMC is 2,257 and beds are 2,208, and the doctor-to-bed ratio comes to 1:1. He submitted that the present position reflects that there is neither any shortage nor any threat to any smooth functioning of the hospital; rather, a summary for hiring employees on a contract basis was moved and approval was procured for extraneous reasons.

He said contractual appointments were being made to the institutes just to change its status in violation of the SC judgment. He submitted that these appointments were not being made fairly and transparently as the original composition of the selection committees was unilaterally changed and one single member from each specialty took interviews of candidates appearing for appointments.

The counsel said that terms and conditions of service of the petitioners were being seriously jeopardized. The petitioners also submitted that the impugned agreement with regard to the handing over of federally owned hospitals to the Sindh government was unlawful and made in violation of the SC judgment.

They said the impugned agreement was nothing but a hopeless and cynical attempt to circumvent the judgment of the SC and regularise the illegal and contemptuous continuation of control of the federally owned institutes by the provincial government.

Their counsel said that on the one hand the provincial government was pursuing the review petitions before the SC against the judgment, while on the other hand, it was executing the agreement with the Centre to take control of the hospitals, admitting that the facilities were under the federal government’s executive and legislative authority.

He remarked that such apparent contradictions manifest mala fide intentions of the provincial government and are an attempt to protect the illegal assumption of federally owned institutes. He also questioned a health department summary with regard to the re-designation of posts of the NICH, JPMC and NICVD, and the creation of certain new posts for making appointments against the present posts.

The counsel said the impugned agreement was beyond the scope of Article 146(1) of the constitution and also in conflict with various provisions of the constitution. He requested the court to declare the agreement unconstitutional, and the provincial government’s decision to re-designate the existing posts, and create new posts and appointments as illegal and without lawful authority.He also requested the court to declare the daily order as illegal, and to restrain the respondents from acting upon the agreement.

The SC had earlier set aside the devolution of the NICH, the JPMC and the NICVD, declaring their devolution to the provincial government unconstitutional, without lawful authority and of no legal effect.