1994 SCMR 1667

CHIEF SECRETARY, PUNJAB and 2 others vs Sardar RIAZ AL1

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Citation1994 SCMR 1667

CourtSupreme Court of Pakistan

Case No.Civil Petition for Leave to Appeal No, 834-L of 1992 Appeal No, 142 of 1992

Date1993-12-15

Judge(s)Sand Saood Jan, Muhammad Rafiq Tarar and Manzoor Hussain Sial

Authored bySaad Saood Jan

ResultLeave granted

Summary

This matter involves a petition for leave to appeal against an order of the Punjab Service Tribunal, which had granted the respondent seniority as a Naib-Tehsildar effective from the date his name was placed on a list of candidates in the Old Bahawalpur State, rather than from the date of his continuous appointment to the post. The core legal questions concern whether seniority can be legally reckoned from the date of inclusion in a candidate list rather than the date of continuous service, and whether a Service Tribunal's order can adversely affect the seniority of a large number of third-party officers who were not impleaded in the proceedings. The Supreme Court granted leave to appeal, finding that the contentions raised regarding the misapplication of seniority rules and the procedural impropriety of affecting non-parties required further examination. Consequently, the Court suspended the operation of the Tribunal's order pending the final adjudication of the appeal, establishing that seniority disputes involving third-party rights necessitate the presence of affected parties and strict adherence to service rules regarding continuous service.

Questions settled in this judgment

Can seniority be counted from the date of inclusion in a candidate list rather than from the date of continuous service?
Is an order of a Service Tribunal valid if it disturbs the seniority of officers who were not made parties to the proceedings?

service seniorityPunjab Service Tribunalleave to appealnecessary partiesNaib-Tehsildarservice rules

ORDER

SAAD SAOOD JAN, J.---The respondent has been allowed by the Punjab Service Tribunal seniority from 7-4-1955, that is, the date on which his name was placed on the list of Naib-Tehsildar candidates in the Old Bahawalpur State. In support of this petition it is, inter alia, contended that under the relevant rules the respondent could count his seniority only from the date since *hen he had been continuously holding the post of Naib-Tehsildar A and not from the date he was included in the list of candidates for the said post. It is also stated that the order of the learned Tribunal has the effect of disturbing the seniority of about a hundred officers who were not parties before the Tribunal.

2. The contention raised in support of this petition need examination. Leave to appeal is granted.

The order of the learned Tribunal is suspended in' the meanwhile.