IHC orders HPSB to reconsider promotions of seven bureaucrats

ISLAMABAD, Mar 19 (APP): The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday ordered High Power Selection Board (HPSB) to reconsider the promotions of seven petitioner bureaucrats from grade-21 to 22 while declaring the board recommendation of its 29th meeting as void.
The court ordered the HPSB to reconsider the promotion and take decisions on only their official service record.
The IHC, however, rejected the plea against the formation of High Power Selection Board (HPSB) without the Prime Minister for promotions of the bureaucrats from grade-21 to 22. It declared the meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar as in accordance with law and ruled that Prime Minister can allow any minister to chair High Power Selection Board meeting.
Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas issued a 63-page written judgment in the case against the non-promotion of 7 bureaucrats from grade 21 to 22. The court partially accepted the petitions of seven bureaucrats Muhammad Asad Islam Madani, Murtaza Khan, Sohail Ali Khan, Asif Saifullah Paracha, Aamir Zulfiqar Khan, Owais Noman Kundi and Ms. Amna Imran.
The court declared the law of permanent disqualification on not being promoted to grade 22 despite being considered for promotion twice as null and void, saying that the amendment regarding future disqualification for promotion after being ignored for promotion twice is against the law. Despite improving the service record, this amendment permanently deprives officers from promotion, the judgment said.
The court’s decision said that the meeting minutes of the High Power Selection Board show that on the basis of negative evaluation of the officers, they were not recommended for promotion while terming that they lacked integrity, competence, and decision-making ability, and declared the petitioners as having average or mediocre ability.
The court ordered the HPSB to reconsider the promotion of the petitioners, saying that instead of personal information or unverified impressions, only official service records should be relied upon.
The IHC wrote that negative findings regarding integrity were recorded in the cases of Sohail Ali Khan, Murtaza Khan and Ms. Amna Imran. There is no basis for the negative findings in the service dossier, negative material was never provided to the petitioners, it noted.
The court said that the board also recorded observations regarding financial integrity and dubious financial reputation of Grade 21 officers. If the integrity of an officer is really dubious, then formal departmental action should be taken against him, it ruled. An officer should not be promoted to Grade 22 on dubious financial reputation while being allowed to work in Grade 21, this exercise of discretion is such that a government officer is deprived of legitimate promotion by showing him to be of dubious integrity and then that alleged stain is automatically removed without any formal inquiry or punishment.
The court declared the notification dated February 23, 2023, making a petitioner Aamir Zulfiqar an OSD, null and void and said that he should be given posting according to rank and seniority within 30 days.