STATE LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF PAKISTAN through Chairman vs RIAZ MUHAMMAD SHANWARI and others
This matter arises from a petition for leave to appeal filed by the State Life Insurance Corporation against a Peshawar High Court judgment directing the implementation of a Federal Service Tribunal decision that reinstated the respondent. The core legal question concerned whether the respondent's claim stood abated pursuant to paragraph 109(b) of the Supreme Court's judgment in Muhammad Mubeen-ul-Islam v. Federation of Pakistan (PLD 2006 SC 602) due to a pending civil petition filed by the Corporation. The Supreme Court held that the abatement applied to the Corporation's pending petition rather than the already decided service tribunal appeal of the respondent, and an interim stay order merely suspended implementation without setting aside the tribunal's judgment. Consequently, the petition was dismissed and leave to appeal was refused, laying down the principle that the abatement mechanism under the cited precedent affects the pending challenge of the employer rather than the favorable judgment already secured by the employee before the service tribunal.
- Whether the abatement of a matter under the judgment of Muhammad Mubeen-ul-Islam applies to the employer's pending petition or the employee's favorable service tribunal appeal?
- Does an interim stay order suspending the implementation of a service tribunal judgment amount to setting aside the judgment in question?
' SARDAR MUHAMMAD RAZA KHAN, J.--- State Life Insurance Corporation seek leave to appeal from the judgment, dated 7-2-2007 of Peshawar High Court whereby, the Corporation was directed to implement the judgment dated 3-11-2004 of the Federal Service Tribunal, reinstating the respondent.
2. It is alleged that against the judgment of the Federal Service Tribunal, - the Corporation had filed Civil Petition No,2948 of 2004 where the order of the Tribunal was suspended and hence at the time of delivering judgment in case of Muhammad Mubeen-ul-Islam and others v. Federation of Pakistan PLD 2006 SC 602, no judgment in favour of respondent held the filed. That in view of paragraph 109(b) of this judgment, the claim of the respondent stood abated. That he could not claim any right unless he resorted to the proper forum within 90 days and obtained relief therefrom.
4. It is a fact that Civil Petition No,2948 of 2004 was one of the causes heard in Mubeen-ul-Islam's case. After examining the entire background of the present case, we are of the view that it falls in category (b) of para.109 of the judgment. The matter pending before this Court was the petition of State Life Insurance and hence the cause that abates would be their petition and not the appeal of the respondent, which stood already decided by the Federal Service Tribunal, giving relief to the respondent So far as the stay granted by this Court on 25-4-2005 is concerned, it only suspended the implementation of the judgment of Federal Service Tribunal and cannot, by any stretch of arguments, be considered to be one setting aside the judgment in question. With the final decision rendered in PLD 2006 SC 602, the interim order happened to merge into final order that resulted into the abatement of Corporation's appeal before the Supreme Court and not the respondent's appeal before the Service Tribunal.
5. In the circumstances, the learned High Court has rightly directed the implementation of the judgment of Federal Service Tribunal. The petition being meritless is hereby dismissed and leave to appeal refused.