Appointment. Photo: File
ISLAMABAD:
The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has ruled that under the Constitution every citizen has the fundamental right to equal access to public employment at both the federal and provincial levels, emphasizing that recruitment processes must be transparent, fair and merit-based.
The court, while hearing a case related to Class IV appointments at DHQ Hospital Karak, set aside a decision of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) for being out of jurisdiction and declared all appointments illegal.
According to the detailed written ruling, the FCC noted that public recruitment is inextricably linked to fundamental constitutional rights and that citizens could only gain their rightful access to public employment when the hiring process is conducted in a transparent and fair manner.
The judgment further held that any deviation from prescribed recruitment criteria not only constitutes a violation of the Constitution but also undermines public confidence in the governance system.
The court noted that even lower posts such as naib qasid, sanitation workers and watchmen require the utmost care and integrity in appointments as these posts, despite lower educational requirements, are a “sacred trust”.
The FCC held that the appointing authorities are accountable to the Almighty for abuse of their powers, adding that salaries paid to employees come from the national treasury, not from the personal resources of officials. Failure to select deserving candidates amounts to a breach of public trust and denial of legitimate opportunities.
The court declared all the recommendations of the first and second selection boards, as well as the appointment orders, to be illegal and void. It directed the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government to restart the recruitment process in strict accordance with the law.
The court further ordered that the entire recruitment process be completed within 60 days and a compliance report be submitted to the Deputy Registrar (Legal). It also directed that departmental proceedings be initiated immediately against officials responsible for negligence.
It is worth mentioning that the advertisement for Class-IV vacancies at DHQ Hospital Karak was issued in February 2020, after which the PHC had given a stay order against the recommendations of the selection committee.
