ALLAH BAKHSH vs THE GOVERNMENT OF PUNJAB THROUGH THE CHIEF
This is a petition for special leave to appeal directed against the order of the Punjab Service Tribunal, which rejected the petitioner's claim for retrospective promotion as Senior Clerk and Assistant. The core legal question involved whether a civil servant could challenge seniority and claim retrospective promotion dating back over two decades, bypassing distinct cadres and failing to challenge a junior's earlier promotion within the limitation period and statutory bar. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition in limine, holding that the petitioner could not be permitted to reagitate settled and stale controversies from decades prior, particularly where the junior colleague belonged to a different cadre and the promotion occurred before the crucial date barring the Tribunal's jurisdiction. The key principle laid down is that belated challenges to seniority and promotions of persons belonging to different cadres, long barred by limitation and statutory provisions, are unsustainable.
- Whether a civil servant can claim seniority and promotion over a colleague belonging to a different cadre?
- Can a belated challenge to a seniority list and promotion made years prior be entertained by a Service Tribunal?
- Does the Punjab Civil Service Tribunals Act 1974 bar jurisdiction over matters preceding the crucial date of 1-7-1969?
- Section 4(1), Punjab Civil Service Tribunals Act 1974
ORDER
1. ABDUL KADIR SHAIKH, J.-This is a petition for special leave to appeal from the order of Punjab Service Tribunal, dated 19th April 1979, whereby petitioner's claim for promotion as Senior Clerk with effect from 29-4-1965, and as Assistant with effect from 19-12-1956, was rejected.
2. Petitioner joined service on 2-8-1954, as a Junior Clerk in Urban Development Department and was posted in the District Office, Sahiwal He was promoted as Senior Clerk on 1-4-1959, and later on as Assistant on 25-1-1974, with, retrospective effect from 7-10-1971. During the period from 14-1-64 to 13-3-1969, he was posted as Accountant in the Malaria Eradication Organization but this period was subsequently treated as his continuous service as Senior Clerk in his own Department.
3. During this period Seniority List of the staff of West Pakistan Settlement Agency dated 31-12-1968, was published in which petitioner's name was not mentioned due to the reason that at the relevant time he was not employ--ed in the Department concerned. After joining the Department on 13-3- 1969 petitioner challenged the Seniority List in an appeal to the Punjab Civil Service Tribunal, and also made departmental representation claiming promotion to the post of Assistant. The Tribunal disposed of the appeal by the order dated 3-6-1971, with the observations that "provisional seniority list has been revised. The object of the appellant has been achieved and it shall stand disposed of if appellant has any objection he can file an appeal to challenge the correctness of 'the seniority list".
4. Petitioner then succeeded in getting promotion as Assistant on 25-1-1974, with retrospective effect from 7-10-1971, but feeling aggrieved that he should have been allowed promotion from 19-12-1956, he approached the Services Tribunals in appeal. The case set up by him was that he was entitled to promotion as Assistant from a date earlier to 25-10-1958 when his junior in service, one Mirza Muhammad Aslam was promoted as Assistant.
5. This plea has been rejected by the' Tribunal on the ground that Mirza Muhammad Aslam's post was borne on a different cadre, via. "Circle Cadre" whereas petitioner's services belonged to `Headquarters Cadre", and moreover petitioner not having challenged the promotion of Mirza Muhammad Aslam as Assistant which was made on 25-10-1958, he could not be permitted to take up the old controversies at that belated stage. Additionally, the Tribunal noticed that the promotion of Mirza Muhammad Aslam was made long before the crucial date, 1-7-1969, and, therefore, the Tribunal bad no juris--diction to entertain the controversy in view of the bar contained in proviso (c), section 4(1) of the Punjab Civil Service Tribunals Act, 1974.
6. Petitioner who argued before us in person vehemently submitted that his name had been wrongfully excluded from the combined. Seniority List dated 31-12-1968, and during the relevant period both, and Mirror Muhammad Aslam, were employed against posts which belonged to the same governmental Department. Even if this plea is accepted for the sake of argument that would in no way advance petitioner's case, for admittedly Mirza Muhammad Aslam was promoted as Senior Clerk on 6-3-1958, and then promoted as Assistant on 25-10-1958, whereas the petitioner was pro--moted as Senior Clerk on 1-4-1959, and he had not challenged the promo--tion of Mirza Muhammad Aslam either as Senior Clerk or as Assistant. The Tribunal has, therefore, rightly held that he cannot be allowed, in the year 1978, to claim seniority over Mirza Muhammad Aslam.
7. Neither in the memorandum of the petition, nor in Court on our query petitioner claimed seniority over any other person there is, therefore, no merit in this petition and it is accordingly dismissed in limine.
Cited by 2 cases
- Hafiz MANSOOR AHMAD vs Mst. AMINA and 4 others 1984 MLD 1167
- Sheikh MUHAMMAD BASHIR vs ATTA ULLAH 1982 CLC 1577