SHC suspends notification of promotions in prisons department

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has suspended the notification with regard to promotions of assistant superintendent prisons to deputy superintendent prisons till further orders.

The interim orders came on a petition of Maula Bux Sahito and others against a decision of the departmental promotion committee (DPC) that recommended several junior officers for promotions to grade 17 allegedly in violation of the law.

The petitioners had submitted that they were serving as the assistant superintendent prisons in grade 16 and the promotion of 67 per cent officers having at least five years of service were to be made on a seniority-cum-fitness basis.

Their counsel submitted that the post of 39 assistant superintendent prisons who were appointed in grade 14 from the period of August till December 2010 were upgraded in grade 16 through office orders on November 10, 2021, and they were recommended for promotions to the deputy superintendent by the DPC.

The counsel submitted that the DPC recommendations and the impugned notification were against the basic spirit of recruitment rules and Constitution.

He submitted that once the upgrade of the post was made, no further promotion could be given in the upgraded post under the policy. He argued that the respondents could not be promoted to the post of deputy superintendent as they were appointed in grade 14 and their posts were upgraded last year, due to which they had not completed their requisite five-year service before promotion.

He informed the SHC that the promotion of the respondents had taken place with approval of the adviser to the Sindh chief minister on prisons, who was a political figure and had no role under the service law to approve and recommend promotions of civil servants.

A division bench of the SHC comprising Justice Aftab Ahmed Gorar and Justice Adnanul Karim Memon after hearing the arguments observed that to appreciate points raised by the petitioner and to see whether the CM’s adviser was competent to recommend and approve the promotion of civil servants under the service law and whether on upgraded posts the promotion could take place, notices be issued to the Sindh advocate general and services secretary. In the meantime, the high court suspended the impugned notification till further orders.