MUHAMMAD SIDDIQUE vs GENERAL MANAGER, PAKISTAN RAILWAYS and 2
The petitioner sought leave to appeal against the order of the Federal Service Tribunal, Lahore, which dismissed his service appeal. The petitioner, appointed as a Muawan in Pakistan Railways in 1973, was removed from service in 1988 for unauthorized absence. After his departmental appeal was dismissed, he filed a grievance notice and petition under the Industrial Relations Ordinance, and subsequently approached the Federal Service Tribunal after the insertion of Section 2-A into the Service Tribunals Act, 1973. The core legal question concerned the maintainability and limitation period regarding the delayed grievance notice and the time-barred appeal before the Tribunal. The Supreme Court held that the petition was devoid of force due to an unexplained delay of six years in initiating proceedings and the appeal being barred by time. The key principle laid down is that unexplained delay and statutory limitation periods bar service appeals and grievance petitions.
- Whether an unexplained delay of several years in sending a grievance notice and filing a petition is fatal to a service matter?
- Whether an appeal before the Service Tribunal filed long after the promulgation of Section 2-A of the Service Tribunals Act 1973 is barred by time?
- Section 25-A, Industrial Relations Ordinance
- Section 2-A, Service Tribunals Act 1973
- Service Tribunals Act 1973
ORDER
' ABDUL HAMEED DOGAR, J.---The petitioner seeks leave to appeal against the order dated 7-6- 2000 of the Federal Serice Tribunal, Lahore, passed in Appeal No,445-L of 1998 whereby the same was dismissed.
2. The petitioner was appointed as Muawan on 2-4-1973 in Pakistan Railways. It was stated that he used to remain absent from duty without any justification. As such on 13-6-1988 he was removed from service. He filed departmental appeal which was also dismissed on 1-8-1998. He then sent a grievance notice under section 25-A of the Industrial Relations Ordinance on 16-4-1994 and thereafter filed grievance petition on 8-5-1998. On the same day, he filed appeal before the Federal Service Tribunal, Lahore, which was dismissed vide the impugned order.
3. Rana Maqbool Ahmad Khan, learned Advocate Supreme Court for the petitioner has not been able to explain the delay of six years for sending grievance notice and filing the appeal before the Punjab Labour Court. Moreover, the appeal before the Tribunal was also barred by time as section 2-A came into existence in the Service Tribunals Act, 1973, on 10-6-1997.
4. For the foregoing reasons, the petition is devoid of force and the same is dismissed.