Court rules service rules non-statutory, states constitutional courts cannot review internal employment relationships
ISLAMABAD:
The Lahore High Court (LHC) has dismissed a constitutional petition challenging dismissal from service in a strategic organization operating under the National Command Authority (NCA).
In a detailed judgment penned by Justice Jawad Hassan, the court held that employees subject to non-statutory service rules cannot invoke constitutional jurisdiction under Article 199 of the Constitution.
The case turned on whether petitioner’s service framework created enforceable public law rights or remained within a master-servant relationship.
Justice Hassan reaffirmed that following an amendment to the NCA Act, service rules applicable to NCA employees are non-statutory unless formally authorized and notified, thereby precluding judicial review in constitutional jurisdiction.
Applying the established “functional test,” the court emphasized that internal administrative rules lacking statutory force do not confer enforceable rights.
The judgment further emphasized judicial restraint in service cases linked to strategic and defense-related organizations, reinforcing the limited scope of interference by constitutional courts in such areas.
In 2021, the Islamabad High Court ruled that under the NCA, employees of strategic organizations cannot petition constitutional courts to resolve their service issues.
While hearing 108 identical petitions, the bench noted that “the obligation of non-proliferation and security protection lapses is a crucial obligation. The desperation of non-state actors involved in terrorism to gain benefits due to weak control and command or breach of confidentiality is not a mere myth.”
The NCA is Pakistan’s top civilian-led agency responsible for overseeing the employment, policy formulation, exercises, deployment, research and development, and operational command and control of the country’s nuclear arsenals.
