PHC overturns decision granting tehsildars sub-registrar's powers

PESHAWAR:

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has struck down the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government's decision to grant sub-registrar powers to tehsildars across several districts, declaring the move unlawful.

A division bench comprising Justice Sahibzada Asadullah and Justice Waqar Ahmad announced the verdict while hearing a set of petitions filed by Habibur Rehman and 12 others. The detailed 19-page judgment, authored by Justice Waqar Ahmad, accepted the petitions challenging the government's orders.

The petitioners' counsel, Advocate Daniyal Asad Chamkani, argued that the provincial government had repeatedly delegated sub-registrar powers to tehsildars, even though, under the law, appointments to the post must either be made through promotion within the department or direct recruitment via the Public Service Commission (PSC).

He maintained that the sub-registrar position is a Grade-14 post, and staff members in the registrar's office, including moharrars and clerks, are entitled to promotion to this rank. However, assigning additional charge to tehsildars deprives these employees of their legitimate promotion rights.

Chamkani further pointed out that the provincial government had framed rules in 2020 specifying that the sub-registrar's post should only be filled either through PSC recruitment or departmental promotion, leaving no legal basis for the temporary delegation of powers to tehsildars. Conversely, the government's counsel contended that the delegation of powers was temporary and administrative in nature, asserting that the provincial government possessed the authority to assign additional responsibilities to any officer when necessary. He also argued that higher courts had previously treated such decisions as policy matters, beyond the scope of judicial interference.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the bench ruled that the government's orders granting sub-registrar powers to tehsildars were not in accordance with the law and therefore stood null and void.