Withdrawal of Appointment Order after performing duties – Judgement
OFFICE MEMORANDUM
Subject: Appointment Order
PRESENT:
MR. JUSTICE SARDAR TARIQ MASOOD
MR. JUSTICE MUHAMMAD ALI MAZHAR
CIVIL APPEAL No. 17-Q OF 2021
(Against the judgment dated 07.04.2021 passed by the Balochistan Service Tribunal, Quetta, in S.A. No. 542/2019)
Inspector General of Police, Quetta and another
…Appellants
VERSUS
Fida Muhammad and others
…Respondents
For the Appellants:
Mr. Ayaz Khan Swati, Addl. A.G. Balochistan
For Respondent No. 2, 3, 5, 7-10, 12, 13:
Mr. M. Rauf Ata, ASC
For Respondent Nos. 1, 4, 10:
In person
Date of Hearing: 18.04.2022
JUDGMENT
MUHAMMAD ALI MAZHAR, J. This Civil Appeal with leave of this Court is brought to challenge the judgment dated 07.04.2021 passed by the learned Baluchistan Service Tribunal, Quetta in S.A. No. 542 of 2019, whereby the Service Appeal filed by the respondents (employees) was allowed and they were reinstated in service.
2. The transitory facts of the case are as under:
On 28.12.2018, advertisement was published in the Newspapers to invite applications for different vacant posts in the Baluchistan Police Sibi Range. The respondents applied for the different posts respectively and after completion of all requisite formalities including the scrutiny of documents they were selected and appointment letters were issued to them on 22.05.2019.
However, vide consolidated order of cancellation of appointment dated 21.06.2019, the appointment letters were The respondents filed departmental appeal which withdrawn. The respondents filed departmental appeal which remain undecided therefore they preferred the Service Appeal before the learned Service Tribunal, Baluchistan. The learned Service Tribunal allowed the appeal, set aside the cancellation order of the appointments and reinstated the respondents.
3. The learned Additional Advocate General, Baluchistan argued that the learned Service Tribunal has committed serious error while allowing the Service Appeal of the respondents and failed to consider that the advertisement was made for the entire Sibi range which consists of five districts i.e. District Sibi, District Ziarat, District Harnai, District Kohlu and District Dera Bugti, whereas the appointments were made from District Sibi and Harnai which was in violation of Rule 9(6) of the Baluchistan Civil Servants (Appointment, Promotion and Transfer) Rules 2009 (the 2009 Rules), therefore, the appointment orders were rightly withdrawn. It was further argued that the respondents had no vested right to appointment in violation of Rules.
4. The learned counsel for the respondents argued that, after appointment, the respondents were performing their duties to the satisfaction of the competent authority and there was no complaint against them, but all of a sudden their appointment letters were cancelled through an omnibus order without disclosing any reason, providing any opportunity of hearing or issuing any show cause notice. The Departmental Appeal remained undecided within the statutory period, hence the respondents approached the learned Service Tribunal for redressal of their grievances. It was further averred that the action of the petitioners was in violation of the principle of natural justice whereby the services of low paid, poor employees belonging to downtrodden areas were terminated.
5. Leave to appeal was granted vide order dated 18.11.2021 in the following terms:
“Learned Additional Advocate General, Baluchistan contends that the respondents who were all local residents of District Sibi could not have been appointed to the local post of District Ziarat and their appointment on such account in terms of Rule 9(6) of Baluchistan Civil Servants (Appointment, Promotion and Transfer), Rules, 2009, being illegal, were rightly cancelled and withdrawn, and the Tribunal by the impugned judgment was not justified in granting reinstatement to the respondents to the same posts.”
