SECRETARY, NARCOTICS CONTROL DIVISION, GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN, ISLAMABAD And Another vs MUHAMMAD SAJJAD And 4 Others

ORDER

SAJJAD ALI SHAH, C.J.---Respondents Muhammad Sajjad, Siraj Ahmed Jan, Javed Iqbal, Muhammad Anwar and Adil Nizam all promoted Upper Division Clerks filed the service appeals before the Federal Service Tribunal making grievance that they were bypassed and their juniors Muhammad Zubair Khan and Amir Mukhtar, directly appointed Upper Division Clerks, were promoted as Assistants (BPS-11), disregarding the rule of seniority-cum-fitness as contemplated in the Recruitment Rules in Establishment Division's S.R.O. 248(1)88. Objection was raised before the Federal Service Tribunal that it had no jurisdiction to go into the question of fitness, which was repelled in view of the rulings mentioned in the impugned order of the Tribunal and the appeals were allowed with direction to the appellate authority to review the cases and pass appropriate orders.

2. The learned Deputy Attorney-General contended before us that the Tribunal had no jurisdiction in respect of fitness and this question was considered by the Departmental Promotion Committee, which came to the conclusion that though the respondents were eligible for promotion but they were not fit. He produced before us the minutes of the Departmental promotion Committee, which have been perused by us. We are of the view that proper and cogent reasons have not been given for declaring respondent No.1 to be unfair and no reference has been made to their Annual Confidential Reports or any other Material supporting the factum of unfitness. Admittedly, the UDCs promoted are junior and no plausible reason has been given to justify their promotion over the heads of the others. Since the Tribunal has remanded the cases the appellate authority for fresh appropriate orders, we, in the interest of justice, decline to interfere with such order. In the result, leave is refused and the petitions are dismissed.