PROVINCE OF PUNJAB and another vs Ch. MUHAMMAD ASHRAF and another

This petition for leave to appeal arose from a service matter concerning the suspension of civil servants. The core legal question before the Supreme Court of Pakistan was whether the High Court possessed jurisdiction to adjudicate matters relating to the terms and conditions of service, specifically the suspension of a civil servant, given the constitutional bar on such jurisdiction. The Supreme Court affirmed that matters pertaining to the terms and conditions of service, including suspension, fall exclusively within the jurisdiction of the Service Tribunal, and the High Court's jurisdiction is barred under Article 212 of the Constitution of Pakistan 1973. However, despite this clear legal position regarding jurisdiction, the Court declined to interfere with the High Court's impugned order in this specific instance. The Court held that the continuous suspension of the respondents was ex facie unjustified, rendering the case unsuitable for interference. The Court emphasized that this decision was strictly confined to the unique facts of the present case and did not alter the established principle regarding the exclusive jurisdiction of the Service Tribunal in service-related disputes.