Judicial allowance: Sindh government seeks time to implement order

Province has no money to make extra payments.

KARACHI:

Sindh government has no money to pay judicial allowance to the employees of subordinate judiciary as ordered by the Sindh High Court.

Citing the complex issue of budgetary allocation (financial implications) and constitutional requirement, Sindh government sought more time to implement a high court judgment announced in a petition filed by Muhammad Farooq Rehmani, a clerk in the court of District and Sessions Judge, Central, seeking payment of judicial allowance to him and all other employees of the subordinate judiciary.

Filing an application for extension, a section officer of the Sindh finance department said that state has filed an appeal before the Supreme Court and moved several applications for an urgent hearing but the same was adjourned time and again and therefore no interim order could be obtained.

The Sindh government also maintained that as the matter is pending hearing before the apex court, the high court could not hear it. The SHC was prayed to allow further time to the provincial government for implementing the judgment.

The application was prompted as a division bench comprising Justice Maqbool Baqar and Justice Nisar Muhammad Shaikh hearing a contempt of court plea by petitioner employees of subordinate judiciary gave a specific time to Sindh government to implement the decision and pay all arrears or face contempt proceedings.

The petitioners seek payment of judicial allowance to them as per judicial policy of 2008 and at a rate of three times the salary paid in other provinces.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 23^rd, 2012.