SAFIR KHAN Versus SECRETARY FINANCE through Ministry of Finance Islamabad
IJAZ ANWAR, J.--- The petitioner is seeking enforcement of certain Government instructions issued in the year 1977 not through the intervention of any Federal Government functionary but against the private bank through the constitutional jurisdiction of this Court, the petitioner in the instant petition claimed the following relief:--
"It is, therefore, most humbly prayed that on acceptance of this writ petition, that the respondent No.3 i.e. MCB Bank may kindly be directed:-- i. To implement and follow the instructions contained in the Ministry of Finance letter No.17(9)-IF.XI/77 dated 30.11.1997. ii. To allow and pay the arrears of all yearly increase in pension duly announced by the Government since 1989 (The year of petitioner retirement) till date.
To ensure and confirm onward payment of the increased amount in pension, if any and fixation of the monthly amount of pension after increase.
Any other relief which this Hon'ble Court deems appropriate in the circumstances of the case may also be granted".
2. Arguments heard and record perused.
3. The Muslim Commercial Bank Ltd is a banking company privatized in the year 1991, having no statutory rules governing the terms and conditions of services of its employees. The Federal Government has no controlling share in the Bank, similarly, the State Bank of Pakistan only acts as a regulator, and the recent view of the Apex Court is that even the State Bank of Pakistan has got no statutory rules of service for governing the terms and conditions of its employees. Thus, in terms of Article 199 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan the said Bank is neither a local authority or body controlled by the Provincial or Federal Government nor it comes within the definition of person as provided under Article 199 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, thus, not amenable to the constitutional jurisdiction of this Court.
4. It is by now well settled that where there are no statutory rules governing the terms and conditions of its employees the status of such employees with the bank would become that of master and servant. Similarly, in case, such employees qualify the status of the workmen then they can approach the Labour forum for the redressal of their grievances.
5. It is pertinent to mention here that the August Supreme Court of Pakistan in the case titled "Abdul Wahab and others v. HBL and others" (2013 SCMR 1383) while discussing the status of the Habib Bank Limited employees has held as under:--
"(b) Habib Bank Limited Staff Service Rules, 1981---
----Rr. 15 & 17---Constitution of Pakistan, Art. 184(3)---Constitutional petition under Art. 184(3) of the Constitution challenging the policy decision taken by the Board of Management of Habib Bank Limited ("the Bank") by which 308 employees of the Bank were compulsorily retired early and services of 2 employees were terminated by paying them three months' dues-- -Maintainability---Contractual employees of a Bank governed by non-statutory rules--- Employees (petitioners) in question were employed by the Bank as a result of a prescribed internal process of the Bank and the letters of their appointment clearly indicated that they were taken into employment on their unequivocal acceptance of the terms and conditions of employment---When employees duly accepted the offer of appointment, it culminated into a valid and a binding service contract between the parties, which for all intents and purposes was meant to govern and regulate the relationship inter se between the parties---Constitutional petition was held to be not maintainable in such circumstances and was accordingly dismissed"
6. For the reason stated above since this Court has got no jurisdiction to interfere with the internal affairs of private entities nor the MCB comes within the constitutional jurisdiction of this Court for the purpose of enforcing the terms and conditions of its employees, as such, this petition is held as not maintainable, it is accordingly dismissed along with CM.
UN/92/P ??