SHC dismisses plea seeking extension of preliminary test date for CSS exams

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday dismissed a petition seeking postponement of the multiple-choice-questions-based preliminary test for the Central Superior Services (CSS) competitive exams till a later date due to widespread floods in different districts in Sindh.

The petitioners, Azhar Hussain Tunio and others, had submitted in the petition that candidates from Sindh had been prevented from submitting their applications for the MCQ-based preliminary test for the CSS competitive examination 2023 scheduled to be held on October 2 within the prescribed time period due to widespread floods in Sindh that also destroyed the infrastructure of several districts.

A division bench of the SHC comprising Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh and Justice Yousuf Ali Sayeed after hearing the arguments observed that no affected candidate had personally come forward and it had harboured some doubt as to whether the matter properly qualified to be one of the public interest.

The high court observed that a notice was issued to the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) to ascertain whether there had been any significant decline in the number of applications, so as to support the contention of the petitioners.

The bench observed that the online registration system of the FPSC remained operational, with 59,182 applicants having enrolled/ registered within the due date, of whom 9,998 applicants were from Sindh compared to 10,544 that had enrolled in the preceding year.

The high court observed that it was apparent that the reduction in the number of the applicants from the previous year was not so stark and required no further enquiry especially when no aggrieved affected person had personally come forward.

The SHC observed that the petition was not maintainable and dismissed it.

The SHC directed a police investigation officer (IO) to implement the recommendations of the provincial task force for the recovery of a missing student who went missing from the Saddar area over 10 years ago.

The direction came on a petition of Mohammad Islam who had moved the court against enforced disappearance of his 19-year-old son Mohammad Faisal on January 9, 2012, from Saddar. The petitioner submitted that his son was a student of the Ship Owners College and his whereabouts were unknown since January 2012.

The high court observed that the matter had also been taken up by the provincial task force on August 20, 2022, where positive recommendations were made for the recovery of the missing person.

The SHC directed the IO to ensure that such recommendations were implemented prior to the next date of hearing, and submit a detailed progress report within six weeks.