Sacked govt employees case: SC declines govt’s plea

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) Thursday declined the request of federal government, seeking suspension of its judgment sacking thousands of government employees.

A three-member SC bench, headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, admitted for regular hearing the review petitions, filed by the government and sacked employees against the court judgment striking down the Sacked Employees (Reinstatement) Ordinance Act, 2010.

The court, however, restrained the government from vacating government employees from residences till the decision in the instant review petitions. The court issued notices to the parties in the case and asked counsel for the petitioners to submit written synopsis within two weeks and adjourned further hearing until Nov 29.

Earlier, during the course of hearing, Attorney General Khalid Javed pleaded for stay in the court judgment on humanitarian grounds, adding that work of the government’s institutions was being affected as, he said, new recruitments could not be made in the sacked employees place.

The AG submitted that more than 16,000 families had been affected while everyday news of deaths of sacked employees was pouring in. Justice Umer Ata Bandial observed that they could not suspend its judgment in the first hearing of the matter, adding that on the next hearing they would listen to his arguments as well as counsel for other petitioners.

"The government can examine the matter on humanitarian grounds, not the court," Justice Bandial reamrked. Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed, another member of the bench, observed that the matter related to recruitments on merit and in a transparent manner, adding that the governments could not draw money from the national exchequer for charity purpose.

It is a country of 22-crore people, not of 16,000,” Justice Amin remarked, adding that they were hearing the matter with open heart and wherever they find any error, would make correction.

Justice Umer Ata Bandial asked the learned Attorney General as to what the government wanted as nothing was clear in its petition. The AG replied that it was his professional obligation to defend the Ordinance, passed by the Parliament.

Meanwhile, the court after admitting for regular hearing the review petitions, held that the case would be heard on daily basis and would be decided on merit. In August, Justice Mushir Alam, on the last day of his retirement, while heading a three-member bench, had struck down the Sacked Employees (Reinstatement) Ordinance Act of 2010, sending home some 16,000 government employees, recruited in different departments. The court had held that the legislation enacted by the then Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government did not fulfil the criteria laid down by the apex court in numerous cases.