In hot water: PHC conditions secretary’s salary with filing comments

Court orders official to file comments within three days or remain unpaid

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court dismissed a technical education board secretary’ plea to release his salary after he failed to reply in a petition. The bench of Justices Qaiser Rasheed and Justice Syed Afsar Shah issued these orders on a contempt of court notice filed by an employee of the board Shad Muhammad. It ordered that the salary not be restored until the reply is filed.

When hearing commenced, the bench was told that the petitioner was working as a machine operator at the board and retired in 1994. Shah’s counsel said his client was neither given pension nor perks and privileges since.

At the last hearing, the bench ordered the attachment of the secretary’s salary with filing a reply on the writ petition.

Secretary of the board, Hidayatullah, appeared before the court and said a reply was being prepared. The statement angered Justice Qaiser Rasheed. “Some officers will not implement court orders unless they were taken to task,” he said.

Unhappy, Justice Rasheed also dismissed a plea to restore the secretary’s salary and ordered him to file comments within three days.



He expressed his anger over the failure to comply with court orders and remarked that a new trend was emerging in which officers were least bothered to file replies. “Now we will have to issue arrest warrant if they don’t implement court orders,” he said. He adjourned the case, ordering the secretary to file comments within three days.

Companies unsealed

The same bench, while hearing another case related to pollution, suspended the Environmental Protection Agency’s notification and unsealed two construction companies.

The companies were earlier sealed by EPA on charges of causing environmental pollution.

When the hearing started on a petition filed by three construction companies, including Hashtnagar Construction Company and Durrani and Sons Construction Company, the petitioners’ counsel Ijaz Sabi stated these entities had met all the conditions required by the EPA for environmental protection.

Sabi stated that an application had also been filed to acquire a no objection certificate and the companies expected it soon.

The EPA’s counsel stated that an application for the NoC had been received and all required steps were completed, adding the EPA had no objection over unsealing of the companies.

The court, after hearing the arguments, suspended EPA’s notification and ordered the petitioners to get an NoC within a month.

The EPA earlier sealed the companies for not meeting the necessary requirements to avoid environmental pollution. After this, the owners approached the PHC against EPA’s notification.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2016.