Rejects the provincial government’s appeal against the military court’s decision, declaring pre-2019 seniority legal
The Supreme Court of Pakistan rejected the appeals of the Sindh government and declared that the seniority of Sindh police officers before 2019 was lawful.
A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, dismissed appeals challenging the Sindh Military Tribunal’s decision and upheld the restoration of seniority, declaring it a constitutional right that cannot be ignored.
The court clarified that the restoration of pre-2019 seniority is legal and all the appeals filed by the Sindh government stand dismissed. According to the judgment, the affected officers will now be eligible for timely promotions as seniority is a fundamental aspect of the service structure.
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The case involved assistant sub-inspectors recruited in 1990, who were dismissed for political reasons in 1991. The Supreme Court noted that in 1994, the then IG of Sindh had reinstated the officers on the basis of their original appointment date.
The judgment pointed out that although financial benefits were not given at the time of reinstatement, the original seniority of the officers had been restored. In 2019, however, their seniority dates were changed without issuing a show cause notice, which the court ruled was illegal.
The Sindh government had demanded that the seniority of officers be linked to the appointments of 1991 and 1992 rather than those of 1990. The Sindh Military Court had declared the 2019 seniority list illegal and ordered the reinstatement of the 1990 dates, a decision which the Supreme Court has now upheld.
