PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has directed the provincial chief secretary and the governor’s military secretary to file comments about two identical petitions filed by nine low-grade employees of the Governor’s House against the 1970 rules dealing with the terms and conditions of their services.

A bench consisting of Justice Lal Jan Khattak and Justice Ijaz Anwar also extended a restraining order directing the government not to take any adverse action against the petitioners until further orders.

Abdur Razak, Dost Mohammad and other petitioners, who have been working in the Governor’s House as drivers (BPS-6), requested the court to declare illegal and unconstitutional the impugned rules called, Terms and Conditions of Appointment, Confirmation, Discharge and Retirement etc of the Governor’s Household, Gardens and Garage Establishments.

They also pleaded with the court to declare the government’s failure to formulate proper service structure for them unlawful and direct it to include them in the seniority list of the Civil Secretariat’s drivers for promotion prospects.

PHC seeks comments on petition

The petitioners also sought the court’s orders for the respondents, including the chief secretary and establishment secretary, to follow the mandate of the KP Civil servants Act, 1973, and other rules made under the Act for regulating terms and conditions of the services of the Governor’s House household establishment and staff.

Advocate Mian Mohammad Imran appeared for the petitioners and said as the One Unit Scheme was effective, the West Pakistan’s governor had introduced the rules, Terms and Conditions of Appointment, Confirmation, Discharge and Retirement, etc of the Governor’s Household, Gardens and Garage Establishments, on Mar 30, 1970, declaring the military secretary to the governor to be the competent authority.

He said his clients were regular civil servants being governed by the KP Civil Servants Act, 1973, and fell under the definition of a civil servant.

The lawyer said since the inception of their service, they had been performing their duties with utmost zeal and to the entire satisfaction of their high-ups.

He argued that proper service structure didn’t exist, so the petitioners faced problems as they served in the same grade and scale.

Mr Imran pointed out that service structure for the secretariat’s drivers showed that they got an opportunity for promotion up to BPS-16 as garage superintendent, but the petitioners had no promotion prospects.

He argued that the 1970 rules had granted unbridled powers to the military secretary to the governor regarding appointments and promotions of and disciplinary actions against the staff members of the Governor’s House.

The counsel added that the governor’s military secretary could initiate and take disciplinary action against the household employees of the Governor’s House without adopting due process.

He contended that those rules had lost its essence after the end to the One Unit Scheme in 1970 followed by the framing of the 1973 Constitution and enactment of the Civil Servants Act, 1973.

The lawyer added that the KP (Efficiency and Disciplinary) Rules, 2011, provided a detailed procedure regarding disciplinary proceedings.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2021