PHC upholds govt notification on grace marks withdrawal

Civil judges examination

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday upheld the provincial government notification on withdrawal of five grace marks in the civil judges’ examination and dismissed all the petitions filed by failed candidates seeking five or less marks in subjects or in aggregate score in the examination conducted for posts of civil judge.

A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Ikramullah Khan announced the decision reserved a week ago after detail hearing from all the parties. In the short order, the court had announced that all the writ petitions stood dismissed.

Tamkeen Qazi and 33 others candidates had filed the writ petitions against the provincial Public Service Commission and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. They had sought five or less grace marks in one or two subjects or in aggregate numbers in the examination conducted for posts of civil judges.

During the course of hearing, the lawyers, who appeared for the candidates, submitted that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government through a notification in 2010 had deleted Para-6 of the KP Judicial Service Rules 2001 and thus through the amendment withdraws the five grace marks in the civil judges examination.

The lawyers pointed out that five grace marks in one or two papers or in aggregate were available in the Judicial Service Rules of all the other provinces of Pakistan. They said deletion of the grace marks form KP Judicial Service Rules were not only a discrimination with the candidates of the province, but also against Articles 4, 9, 25 and 38 of Constitution of Pakistan.

They argued that the “law governs life style” and if there is no major changes in the subjects and courses of law to date then changes in the rules are against the principal of jurisprudence. The lawyers prayed before the court to declare the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s notification as void and against the Constitution.

The lawyers cited decision of the PHC in which the court had directed the Public Service Commission to award five grace marks to candidates who failed with that a margin in any subject in the examination conducted for posts of civil judges and Provincial Management Service (PMS).

A division bench headed by former PHC Chief Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan heard over a 100 writ petitions filed by aggrieved candidates who had appeared in two written examinations conducted for posts of civil judges and the PMS.

On the other hand, the additional advocate general, Umar Farooq Adam, submitted before the court that the provincial government had deleted the five number grace marks from the civil judge examination in light of the Supreme Court decision. Following the provincial government notification about deletion of the grace marks from the judges’ examination, the Public Service Commission did not give the five grace marks to the petitioners, he said and prayed the court to dismiss the petition.