Shah Bakhsh and others V. Government of Balochistan through Chief Secretary and others,
CLC 2019 797 · Balochistan High Court
This case involved teachers and education staff from Balochistan who had been given higher pay scales, known as time scale grants, after completing certain years of service, under government policies issued in 2007 and 2012. These grants allowed employees to receive a higher salary scale without being formally promoted to a higher post. The dispute arose over how much Group Insurance money (payable at retirement or death under the Balochistan Provincial Employees Group Insurance Act) the employees were entitled to. The petitioners argued they should receive insurance benefits based on this higher time-scale pay, treating it as equivalent to a promotion.
The Balochistan High Court rejected this argument. It held that a time scale grant is different from a promotion: promotion means moving to a higher rank or position, while a time scale grant only raises an employee's pay to relieve long-service stagnation, without changing their actual post or rank. Since the employees had voluntarily accepted the financial benefits of the time scale policy, the court said they could not later challenge the same policy to claim additional insurance benefits as if they had been promoted. The court ruled that insurance payouts must be based on the employee's actual last pay scale or grade, not an assumed higher one. All the petitions were dismissed.
This case matters because it clarifies the legal distinction between "promotion" and "time scale" grants in Pakistani civil service law, affecting how retirement and insurance benefits are calculated for many government employees.
یہ مقدمہ بلوچستان کے اساتذہ اور تعلیمی عملے سے متعلق تھا جنہیں 2007 اور 2012 میں جاری کردہ حکومتی پالیسیوں کے تحت مخصوص مدتِ ملازمت مکمل کرنے کے بعد اعلیٰ تنخواہ کے اسکیل دیے گئے تھے، جنہیں "ٹائم اسکیل گرانٹ" کہا جاتا ہے۔ ان گرانٹس کے ذریعے ملازمین کو کسی اعلیٰ عہدے پر باقاعدہ ترقی دیے بغیر اعلیٰ تنخواہ اسکیل دیا جاتا تھا۔ تنازعہ اس بات پر پیدا ہوا کہ بلوچستان پرووِنشل ایمپلائیز گروپ انشورنس ایکٹ کے تحت ریٹائرمنٹ یا وفات کی صورت میں ملازمین کو کتنی گروپ انشورنس رقم ملنی چاہیے۔ درخواست گزاروں کا مؤقف تھا کہ انہیں اس اعلیٰ ٹائم اسکیل تنخواہ کی بنیاد پر انشورنس فوائد ملنے چاہئیں، گویا یہ ترقی کے مترادف ہو۔
بلوچستان ہائی کورٹ نے اس دلیل کو مسترد کر دیا۔ عدالت نے قرار دیا کہ ٹائم اسکیل گرانٹ ترقی سے مختلف ہے: ترق