SC larger bench to hear SSGC employees case

ISLAMABAD: A larger bench of the Supreme Court will hear a case pertaining to the regularisation of employees of Sui Southern Gas Company Limited today (Thursday).

A five-member larger bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial will take up the matter today (Thursday) at 1pm. The chief justice on Wednesday, while heading a three-member bench of the apex court during a hearing on the matter, directed for the constitution of a larger bench.

During the course of proceedings, Faisal Siddiqui, counsel for the employees, submitted before the court that in 1993, the employees were recruited in the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC).

He submitted that the government had made a policy for regularising the contract as well as daily-wage employees, however it was not implemented in letter and spirit. Justice Athar Minallah observed that the SSGC kept the employees for long time without any contract. Justice Ayesha A Malik observed that there is no legal basis for regularising the employees.

Faisal Siddiqui submitted that the apex court in the SSGC cases had regularised some of the employees, while some were not reglurised, adding that it would be appropriate the apex court should remove this ambiguity once for all in this matter.

Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial observed that the employees have raised a legal point that injustice has been made to them, hence the larger bench will hear the case and give its decision. Later, the court adjourned the hearing till today (Thursday).