Sitting Panel: Sh. Riaz Ahmed and Javed Iqbal, JJ

Summary:

This case involves two civil petitions for leave to appeal filed by Ghulam Rasool and Mir Ali Akbar Mengal (petitioners) against a judgment of the Balochistan Service Tribunal. The petitioners, initially selected as Tehsildars in 1972, had their services terminated during their training period in 1973. They were later reinstated by a Review Board in 1978 and subsequently posted as Tehsildars in 1980. Their primary contention was that their seniority should be reckoned from their initial selection dates in 1972, and that the intervening period, during which they were out of service, should be treated as extraordinary leave without pay. They argued that the Review Board’s order did not explicitly bar retrospective seniority and that a Chief Minister’s directive had previously supported their claim for retrospective seniority, though this directive was later withdrawn.

The Supreme Court dismissed the petitions, affirming the Service Tribunal’s decision. The Court held that seniority cannot be conferred retrospectively unless such a right is clearly established, which the petitioners failed to do. Their initial engagement was as “trainees” subject to successful completion of training, which did not occur. The Review Board’s reinstatement order explicitly stated that it would not entitle them to “any damages, compensation or arrears of emoluments or other benefits for the period they remained out of service,” which implicitly included seniority. The Court found the Review Board’s omission of retrospective seniority was “deliberate and calculated.” It also dismissed the reliance on the Chief Minister’s withdrawn order, finding it arbitrarily passed. The Supreme Court emphasized that it does not ordinarily interfere with concurrent findings of fact by Service Tribunals unless a substantial point of law or public importance is involved, which was not the case here.

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