Rab Nawaz and 4 others V. Government of Balochistan through Chief Secretary and 3 others,
PLD 2017 Balochistan 52 · Balochistan High Court
This case concerned a group of employees, originally 199 petitioners, who had been appointed as Assistant Lecturers in Balochistan's colleges under a special government employment package meant to address unemployment in the province, known as the Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan initiative. After years of contract employment, promises of regularization, and various government meetings and committees discussing their status, the petitioners were eventually regularized in 2014 not as Lecturers but at the lower position of SST (Secondary School Teacher), and were shifted from the Colleges to the Schools section. Their regularization was also backdated to a later date than they expected, and they were placed in a different pay scale/role than originally promised. They challenged this notification in the High Court, arguing it was illegal and against earlier commitments made to them.
The government argued that the petitioners had joined on contract terms voluntarily, that proper lecturer positions require selection through the Public Service Commission (which the petitioners had not qualified for), and that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case because Article 212 of the Constitution bars constitutional petitions on service matters, directing employees instead to service tribunals.
The High Court agreed with the government's jurisdictional objection. It held that this was essentially a service matter and a policy decision, which cannot be challenged in the High Court's constitutional jurisdiction merely because of hardship to employees. Since alternate remedies existed, the petition was dismissed. The case reaffirms that civil service disputes generally must go through specialized tribunals rather than const
یہ مقدمہ ملازمین کے ایک گروہ سے متعلق تھا، جن کی تعداد ابتدائی طور پر 199 درخواست گزار تھی، جنہیں بلوچستان کے کالجوں میں اسسٹنٹ لیکچرار کے طور پر ایک خصوصی سرکاری روزگار پیکج کے تحت تعینات کیا گیا تھا۔ یہ پیکج صوبے میں بے روزگاری کے مسئلے کو حل کرنے کے لیے تشکیل دیا گیا تھا اور آغازِ حقوقِ بلوچستان کے نام سے موسوم تھا۔ کئی سالوں تک کنٹریکٹ پر ملازمت کرنے، ریگولرائزیشن کے وعدوں، اور ان کی حیثیت کے حوالے سے مختلف سرکاری اجلاسوں اور کمیٹیوں میں غور و خوض کے بعد، بالآخر 2014 میں درخواست گزاروں کو ریگولرائز تو کر دیا گیا، مگر لیکچرار کے بجائے ایک کم تر عہدے، یعنی ایس ایس ٹی (سیکنڈری اسکول ٹیچر) کے طور پر، اور انہیں کالجوں کے شعبے سے ہٹا کر اسکولوں کے شعبے میں منتقل کر دیا گیا۔ ان کی ریگولرائزیشن کو بھی اس تاریخ سے پیچھے کر دیا گیا جس کی وہ توقع رکھتے تھے، اور