Aamir Iqbal Gill vs State Life Insurance Corporation Of Pakistan and others
This civil appeal arose from a decision of the High Court dismissing the petitioner's Intra-Court Appeal regarding service grievances against the State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan. The High Court had dismissed the petitioner's challenge on two grounds: first, that service regulations of the respondent-corporation were non-statutory, and second, that a Federal Service Tribunal decision could only be challenged directly before the Supreme Court. The core legal questions were whether the service regulations of the State Life Insurance Corporation carry statutory effect and whether the petitioner could maintain a writ petition before the High Court after his earlier proceedings abated following precedent. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that both grounds relied upon by the High Court were erroneous. Relying on binding precedent, the Court held that the service regulations possessed statutory effect and that the abatement of proceedings following Muhammad Mubeen-us-Salam permitted approaching the competent forum. The matter was remitted for decision on the merits.
- Do the service regulations of the State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan possess statutory effect?
- Can a writ petition be maintained in the High Court regarding service terms following the abatement of proceedings under the rule in Muhammad Mubeen-us-Salam?
ORDER
UMAR ATA BANDIAL , C.P. 2429-L OF 2018 : The petitioner filed a writ petition claim ing relief in relation to his terms and conditions of service in the respondent-corporation. Learned Single Bench vide impugned judgment dated 10.01.2007 dismissed the writ petition on the ground that the service regulations of the respondent-corporation were of non-statutory character . The learned Division Bench of the High Court dismissed the petitioner's Intra Court Appeal vide impugned judgment dated 11.10.2018, on the ground that the judgment in the service appeal filed by the petitioner before the Federal Service Tribunal could not be challenged before the High Court but only before the Supreme Court.
2. The petitioner's Civil Petition filed against the judgment of the Federal Service Tribunal dated 14.02.2005 had abated upon the announcement of the judgment of this Court in Muhammad Mubeen-us-Salam and others v.
Federation of Pakistan through Secretary , Ministry of Defence and others (PLD 2006 SC 602). This Court allowed the petitioner to approach the competent forum for redress. Consequently , the ground taken by the learned Division Bench is in error .
3. The other ground, that the petitioner's terms and condition of service are not governed by statutory rules has been considered by this Court in Chairman, State Life Insurance Corporation v. Hamayun Irfan (2010 SCMR 1495 ), wherein at page 1503 it is held that the service regulation possess the necessary characteristics to carry statutory ef fect. In the circumstances, the decision by the learned Single Bench is also in error .
4. In the result the petitioner's writ petition is liable to be considered and decided in accordance with the law but without the aforenoted two objections posing as impediments thereto. This petition is accordingly converted into an appeal and allowed.
C.P. 2439-L OF 2018 : The petition has become infructuous. Therefore, the same is dismissed.