Restoration of sacked employees: SC seeks reply from AGP on Parliament’s jurisdiction

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) has sought reply from the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) about the steps the Parliament can take to provide relief to the sacked employees.

The apex court five-member bench headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Tuesday took up the review pleas of sacked employees who were reinstated through Sacked Employees (Reinstatement) Act 2010 Ordinance.

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It is pertinent to mention here that on August 17, three-member bench headed by Justice Mushir Alam declared the sacked employee (Reinstatement) Act, 2010 as unconstitutional.

During the hearing, Senator Raza Rabbani completed his arguments and said that the Parliament can give relief to the sacked employees even against the decision of the Supreme Court.

He further said that the apex court should consider the situation in which the ordinance to restore sacked employees was introduced.

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The head of the bench, which comprised Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, Justice Qazi Mohammad Amin and Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Umar Ata Bandial remarked, “You might be right that employees have politically been victimized, but two wrongs cannot make one right. To ensure that appointments were made as per law we have to look at Article 25.”

The apex court sought reply from the AGP that what steps Parliament can take into the matter.

Justice Bandial said that the SC would decide on the review petitions of the sacked employees tomorrow (Wednesday) and adjourned the hearing.