IHC dismisses petition of NH&MP officials challenging their repatriation

Islamabad

Justice Noorul Haq N Qureshi of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) here on Thursday dismissed applications of 51 motorway police officials who challenged their repatriation to their original departments.

These officials had joined the National Highways & Motorway Police (NH&MP) on deputation and later their services were absorbed in the same department. A deputy attorney general (DAG), Raja Khalid Mehmood, representing the federal government, argued that these employees were absorbed in the NH&MP without merit and without considering their educational qualifications and physical standards related to their height.

The IHC bench not only dismissed the applications but also directed that the departmental authorities should proceed against all those officials who while ignoring merit absorbed services of these deputationists. 

The petitioner NH&MP employees, while citing the Establishment Division, Ministry of Communication and the NH&MP inspector general as respondents had assailed an office order dated July 10, 2014 where the federal government in the light of departmental committee formed to implement a Supreme Court judgment date June 12, 2013 had directed these employees to go back to their original departments.

The petitioners claimed that their services with NH&MP were regularised after they were absorbed in the department.

The IHC bench, however, observed that the services of deputationists were absorbed against the posts reserved for promotion in the rank of SPO BPS-16 and APO BPS-07, hence induction of petitioners in the MH&MP against said posts was sheer violation of the NH&MP Rules 2007 and infringement upon the rights of junior rank officials. 

The federal government, on the other hand, had adopted that the petitioners were inducted irregularly through executive orders without recommendations of the departmental induction committee which is necessary. And most of the petitioners do not fulfil the criteria for initial appointment.

The former PPP government had appointed 356 employees on deputation in different departments and later their services were absorbed including these officials in the NH&MP while the present government has decided to implement the Supreme Court's orders, the IHC bench was told.

The IHC bench, however directed that the parent departments of these officials should not hinder their repatriation.