LHC strikes down devolution of Sheikh Zayed Hospital

Declares all appointments illegal, including that of chairman, illegal

LAHORE: Justice Farrukh Irfan Khan of the Lahore High Court, while striking down the devolution of Sheikh Zayed Postgraduate Medical Institute (SZPMI) to the Punjab government, discarded all appointments. The appointments included that of the chairman of the hospital which had been made by the provincial authorities.

Justice Farrukh passed the judgment on several petitions filed by All Pakistan Paramedical Staff Federation-SZPMI and others. The petitioners challenged an order of 2012, issued by the cabinet division on the orders of the then prime minister, about transferring administrative control of the institute from the federal government to Punjab.



The petitioners said in their petition that under the garb of 18th Constitutional Amendment, control of the institute was given to the Punjab government through an impugned notification issued on Feb 14, 2012. They stated the institute, at the time of devolution, was under the administrative control of the cabinet division and not under the federal ministry of health. As such, it could not be devolved to the provincial government of Punjab.

The counsel for the petitioners told the court that SZPMI was established by the federal government and its control was in hands of the board of governors under the resolution of May 29, 1986. He further said the institute, on account of its autonomous status and unique character, did not fall under the domain of the 18th Amendment.

On the other hand, the provincial government’s counsel argued that the institute/hospital was established under a Trust formed on Nov 6, 1973. He said the trust was not only meant for the establishment of hospital and medical colleges in Punjab, but also other provinces of the country.

The government’s lawyer said although the SZPMI was established as an autonomous institute, the funds were provided by the trust. He said the then prime minister competently transferred administrative control of the institute to the government of Punjab. The law officer also defended the appointments made by the province after devolution.

He alleged that the petitioners, for personal gains, wanted to undo the workings of the board of governors and to stop it from performing administrative functions. However, a federal law officer argued that the decision of the hospital’s devolution had not been taken by the cabinet, which was mandatory under the law.



The judge ordered that the SZPMI shall stand restored to the federal government, in the same position where it stood before the impugned devolution. The judge also declared all the appointments illegal, including the chairman of the institute, made by the provincial government after the purported devolution.

Justice Khan had passed the same verdict in 2017. However, a division bench suspended the decision and sent the matter back to the single bench with orders to decide it afresh after hearing the point of view of the federal government.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2019.