Psychological analysis of the Supreme Court's Judgment; Justice with top bureaucrats, a good omen for lower graded employees

          Love begets love or justice begets justice can be used in this case of demotion of top officers. I always thought that why the behaviours of the top officers are based on injustice with lower graded employees and remain senseless while giving any benefit or concession to them. The Supreme Court showed us in its 40 pages Judgment that the fountain head of injustice is the office of the Prime Minister in case of Federal employees. The victims of injustice in the civil bureaucracy perpetuated injustices to the lower graded employees. The number of the cases of injustices can be assessed from the number of the cases in the various Courts relating to each Department of the Government.

          When it is said that if you want to win the war, give every facility and prestige to the Armed Forces. Similarly, if you want to increase the literacy rate in the Country, sit in consultation with the Teachers and remove hurdles in the way. The same is the situation with top most officers who have been stuffed every kind of powers and are made little gods in the Centre, Provinces and even in the Districts, are when treated not according to the law then how you can expect from them that they would do according to the law.

          A rejected, dejected, disgraced and under-estimated person cannot be entrusted with a job of much confidence. He becomes a cancer of society as well as of the Department. When all and sundry blame bureaucracy for every evil, no one has never analysed the plight of these persons. The Supreme Court if on one side has given unique justice to the aggrieved persons, on the other side has tried to unveil the hidden gimmick in the power corridors prevailing since very long.

          When the high graded officers are aggrieved and then are posted in the various Provinces, they carry their acrimony and full of hatred mentality to the Provinces. As they had been maltreated by their Superiors, they try to undermine every act of amelioration from their subordinates. They make expression of their despondency through harsh behaviours giving posture of strict discipline and efficient administration. He wants his subordinates should suffer from that inferiority complex through which he is suffering. Such kind of officer becomes a psychological patient and suffers from pessimism. He becomes a perpetual cause of agony for his subordinates and no one then works whole-heartedly under his control. No one can dare to refer him to the psychiatrist for finding out of his actual illness because of his high grade and many powers.

          It is an extraordinary phenomenon that the Civil Servants Act, 1973 is applicable to all from Grade 1 to Grade 22 but different kinds of rules and procedures have been enacted for their promotions. It is equally astonishing that the Rules framed in 1973 were abolished in 1998 but no one raised slogan against the abolition of the rules. It means that the Government of PML(N) rendered them to the positions of the personal servants to the Prime Minister. It was an extremely demoralising act with the top officers. But the matter has also another aspect. Actually in our society, we give more than necessary honour to a person or institution which create more problems than any betterment. Everyone wishes to get the attention of the person on the post of highest authority and also wish to get everything out of turn and in this struggle they forget their dignified positions. As a result they ultimately face failure and are deprived of those for which they were deserved under the due process of law.

          My request to the top bureaucrats is that they should not be rapacious in getting something high or more. When they would abide the law and those who try to deviate from the adopted procedure should be brought to the INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY as it is not only in their favour but also in the favour of the whole nation.

          The judiciary has shown to the whole World that the jubilant Prime Minister on his being elected unanimously from the Parliament has done unprecedented “favours” to the top officers which were not according to the law of the land and the Constitution which the Prime Minister always talked about. He talks about strengthening of the institutions but does acts which are declared even against the Constitution. He gave higher grades to 54 persons but the Supreme Court ordered for their reversion.

          It is the blessing of the independent judiciary that ineligible persons failed to get the places of their choices. It is the time for the Prime Minister to think hundred times before he signs any document because if he persisted this hasty trend, it would be harmful not only for his reputation but also for his party.

          When the judiciary has undertaken the job of watchdog of the protection of rights of the people, it has harnessed its job with full preparation. The people would help the Judiciary for sake of their own rights when their rights are usurped by their own elected Governments.

Manzoor Ahmad Yousafzai

Saturday, 01 May 2010.

Thursday, April 29, 2010
SC turns down PM’s order; says institution is destroyed if promotions, appointments are made in violation of law

By Sohail Khan

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday declared promotion of 54 bureaucrats by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani to Grade 22 as null and void after suspending the notification of such a large-scale promotions in bureaucracy last year.

“Fifty-four persons were promoted in disregard of the rules, destroying the structure of the services and causing anger, anguish, acrimony, dissatisfaction and diffidence,” says the judgment issued here by a three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

The court ruled that the BS-22 officers, who were promoted in pursuance of notifications, shall not be entitled to claim any benefits, perks & privileges if they have availed on account of promotion because they shall be relegated to the positions they were enjoying before their promotions vide notifications.

In September last year, Prime Minister Gilani had reshuffled almost the entire top brass of bureaucracy, replacing over a dozen federal secretaries and announcing changes in several other ministries by promoting over 54 civil servants to Grade-22.

These 54 bureaucrats were promoted to Grade-22 by the prime minister on September 4, 2009, while ignoring at least another 173 bureaucrats. It was the largest Grade-22 promotion and shake-up in many years and secretaries of Interior, Information, Industries, Privatisation Commission, Labour, and Special Secretary of Finance were among those who were replaced with the newly promoted officers.

The promoted federal secretaries include PM’s Principal Secretary Nargis Sethi, former Punjab chief secretary Javed Mehmood, Secretary Election Commission Ishtiaq Ahmed, Secretary Narcotics Tariq Khosa, Secretary Petroleum Kamran Lashari, Home Secretary Qamar Zaman Chaudhry, CDA Chairman Imtiaz Inayat, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Chief Secretary Javed Iqbal, Secretary Ombudsman Sami Saeed and Inspector General of the Punjab Police Tariq Saleem Dogar.

The judgment written by Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmed says that good governance is largely dependent on upright, honest and strong bureaucracy, particularly in the written Constitution wherein important role of implementation has been assigned to the bureaucracy. Civil service is the backbone of our administration.

“Thus for the foregoing reasons the petitions are accepted as a consequence whereof, notifications of promotion of officers declared hereby as having been passed without taking into consideration merits amongst officers promoted from BS-21 to BS-22 vis-a-vis the officers who have been left out from BS-21 to BS-22 particularly in view of the fact when there is no question mark on their eligibility, and as a result whereof on account of issuance of the notifications, articles 4, 9 and 25 of the Constitution has been violated,” the judgment said.

It ruled that the chief executive/competent authority may consider the cases of all the candidates holding the posts of BS-21 in view of observations, made herein above, and also seek guidance from the rules framed which now have been rescinded.

“It would be in the public interest as well as for sake of fairness and justness if the rules rescinded on April 4, 1998, are re-enacted by the competent authority with any changes, modifications as deemed fit under the circumstances,” says the judgment.

The court further ruled that the purity of administration to a large extent depends upon the purity of the services. Such purity can be obtained only if the promotions are made on merits without showing any favouritism or nepotism in accordance with law and Constitution.

“It is a time tested recognised fact that institution is destroyed if promotions/appointments are made in violation of law; it will die automatically. The manner in which the instant promotions in the Civil Services have been made, may adversely affect the existence of this organ,” says the judgment.

Honesty, efficiency and incorruptibility are the sterling qualities in all fields of life, including the administration and services. This criteria seems to have been completely ignored in the instant case.

“No doubt petitioners/affectees officers had no right to be promoted yet in accordance with Section 9 of the Civil Servants Act 1973, they were entitled to be considered for promotion,” says the judgment.

It ruled that the right contemplated under Section 9 supra is neither illusionary nor a perfunctory ritual. Withholding of promotion of an officer is a major penalty in accordance with the Civil Servants (Efficiency and Disciplinary) Rules, 1973; therefore, consideration of an officer for promotion is, therefore, to be based not only on the relevant law and the rules but also based on some tangible material, which can be lawfully taken into consideration.

According to Article 4 of the Constitution, the word “law” is of wider important which includes the duty of every public functionary to act in the matter justly, fairly and fair manner in the matter of advancement of their career is of paramount importance for good governance; otherwise, his commitment to the job, dedication to duty, his power to take decision and even his integrity might be confined to casualty ward, says the judgment.

Earlier, the Supreme Court on January 29 had reserved the judgment in the identical petitions, filed by many bureaucrats of Grade 21, who were ignored in the promotion.

The petitioners had contended that junior officers were promoted, ignoring the seniors, and discrimination had been caused which was against the Constitution as well as the Islamic principles.