KP govt habitually files time-barred appeals: Supreme Court

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on admonished the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for filing a time-barred appeal in a case pertaining to appointments made in violation of rules and regulations.

The court ruled that an affidavit on behalf of the chief minister must be submitted if the provincial government had to file such an appeal in future. A two-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed, heard a case of regularisation of government employees as well as the appointments made in the provincial departments in violation of rules and regulations.

Accepting conditionally the appeal filed by the KP government, the court ordered filling of Grade 11 and above posts in the government departments within six months through the provincial Public Service Commission. The court directed the parties (all provincial government employees) in the instant case to appear in the Provincial Competitive Examination (KPPSC).

The court held that the parties in the instant case (government employees) will continue their job in their respective posts till the filling of posts through the competitive exams.

The court took exception to the negligence of the provincial government regarding filing an appeal against the verdict of Service Tribunal and observed that the provincial government habitually does so by filing a time-barred appeal.

The chief justice made it clear that in future the provincial government will be required to submit an affidavit on behalf of the chief minister if it filed a time-bared appeal. The time-bared appeal will not be decided unless an affidavit of the CM was not submitted with.

The court directed the Additional Advocate General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) to submit to it in paper book the affidavit of the chief minister as well details pertaining to policies of the provincial government regarding the cases as well as appointment of government employees in the matter in hand.

The court held that the employees not falling under the KP Employees Regularization Act 2018 were not entitled to regular employment. The Advocate General KP, however, submitted that in the instant matter the KPK Employees Regularization Act 2009 was applied while under the said Act, only the employees of the project concerned were entitled to regularization of services but not the others.

To a court query, the counsel for the regularized employees admitted that the parties (employees) in the instant case were not employed in the said project. Justice Ijazul Ahsen, however, observed that had the said project been changed, the employees could have got regularized. It will be examined whether the projects were converted or not,” the judge remarked. The public prosecutor, however, feared that a new Pandora’s box will be opened if the said employees were regularized.

“But closing your Pandora’s box, why you are opening our Pandora box?” the chief justice told the advocate general. The additional advocate general admitted his fault and excused but pleaded if the verdict of the tribunal remained intact then employees of 2019 and 2020 will also approach the court.

Justice Ijazul Ahsen recalled that the Supreme Court had already held that appointments for the projects will be made through the Public Service Commission.