The Supreme Court has ruled that government employees must be given a fair opportunity of hearing before their seniority is changed, even if the original seniority determination was contrary to the relevant service rules.
ISLAMABAD, Oct 12 (APP): The Supreme Court has ruled that government employees must be given a fair opportunity of hearing before their seniority is changed, even if the original seniority determination was contrary to the relevant service rules.
A three-member bench comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan issued the judgment while deciding review petitions filed by Sindh Police sub-inspectors.
The court observed that revising the petitioners’ seniority list in 2020 without hearing them violated the principles of natural justice and due process guaranteed under Article 10-A of the Constitution.
The petitioners maintained that they had been assigned their proper positions in the seniority list issued on April 28, 2015, but were placed below their colleagues when the list was revised on November 18, 2020, without issuing show-cause notices or providing an opportunity to present their case.
The court held that seniority was an important service right linked to employees’ career progression. Even if the original seniority list was inconsistent with service rules, the affected employees had to be heard before any adverse change.
The Supreme Court recalled its order of April 4, 2024, restored the relevant civil petitions, converted them into appeals and partly allowed them. It also set aside the Sindh Service Tribunal’s decision to the extent of the first group of petitioners.
The court directed the Sindh Police Department to hear the affected officers, examine their objections and issue a reasoned decision in accordance with the law. If their objections were found valid and the revision unlawful, a fresh seniority list would be issued within two months of receipt of the judgment.
The court also ordered that the existing position under the November 18, 2020, seniority list be maintained for the first group of petitioners in the meantime.