ISLAMABAD:
Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on
Thursday declared null and void recommendations of the former PPP
government’s cabinet subcommittee, headed by Syed Khursheed Shah, for
the regularisation of daily wage and contract employees of the federal
government.
Justice Siddiqui, in his decision, observed that the recommendations regarding the employees who were appointed without following rules and competitive process carry no weight. He directed all the institutions/organisations of the federal government to properly examine and verify the record of the regularised employees and only endorse regularisation of those employees who fulfil the criteria in respect of educational qualification, experience, age and domicile.
The petition was filed in the court by the senior employees of National Highways Authority (NHA), seeking de-regularisation of contractual and daily wage employees who were regularised by the former government’s cabinet subcommittee.
Counsel for the NHA employees Tariq Mehmood Jehangiri argued before the court that all these employees were first appointed at nepotism basis in complete disregard to educational qualification, age, experience, domicile and vacant posts. These employees were inducted without any test or interview, and later the cabinet’s subcommittee recommended their regularisation. The committee’s decision has been affecting the seniority of previous employees.
Jehangiri produced a list of around 350 employees before the court and told the court around 90 people in this list belong to Multan, 60 to Sukkur and the rest to the electoral constituencies of some other MNAs of the former PPP government.
Jehngiri further told the court that the NHA has been paying Rs12 billion per annum on account of salaries to these persons. The Rs12 billion is taken from the amount that the NHA had to spend for road development.
Referring to a Supreme Court judgment, Jehangiri said that the Supreme Court, in the case of Employee Old Age Benefits on March 17 this year, had declared the appointments of 238 employees as null and void. For the recently regularised employees, no posts were created before their induction.
The defence counsel counter argued that if the cabinet subcommittee’s recommendations were declared null and void, thousands of workers would get unemployed. Justice Siddiqui remarked that we have buried the ‘Doctrine of Necessity’ and everything should be done on merit.
Justice Siddiqui, in his decision, observed that the recommendations regarding the employees who were appointed without following rules and competitive process carry no weight. He directed all the institutions/organisations of the federal government to properly examine and verify the record of the regularised employees and only endorse regularisation of those employees who fulfil the criteria in respect of educational qualification, experience, age and domicile.
The petition was filed in the court by the senior employees of National Highways Authority (NHA), seeking de-regularisation of contractual and daily wage employees who were regularised by the former government’s cabinet subcommittee.
Counsel for the NHA employees Tariq Mehmood Jehangiri argued before the court that all these employees were first appointed at nepotism basis in complete disregard to educational qualification, age, experience, domicile and vacant posts. These employees were inducted without any test or interview, and later the cabinet’s subcommittee recommended their regularisation. The committee’s decision has been affecting the seniority of previous employees.
Jehangiri produced a list of around 350 employees before the court and told the court around 90 people in this list belong to Multan, 60 to Sukkur and the rest to the electoral constituencies of some other MNAs of the former PPP government.
Jehngiri further told the court that the NHA has been paying Rs12 billion per annum on account of salaries to these persons. The Rs12 billion is taken from the amount that the NHA had to spend for road development.
Referring to a Supreme Court judgment, Jehangiri said that the Supreme Court, in the case of Employee Old Age Benefits on March 17 this year, had declared the appointments of 238 employees as null and void. For the recently regularised employees, no posts were created before their induction.
The defence counsel counter argued that if the cabinet subcommittee’s recommendations were declared null and void, thousands of workers would get unemployed. Justice Siddiqui remarked that we have buried the ‘Doctrine of Necessity’ and everything should be done on merit.
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