SC verdict not a joke: CJP

CJ directs establishment secretary to apprise PM of the consequences of not complying with court decisions.

ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Friday directed the establishment secretary to apprise the prime minister in clear terms of the consequences of not complying with court decisions.

“The Supreme Court is receiving complaints of non-compliance of its verdicts. The apex court’s verdict is not a joke,” the chief justice observed while hearing a contempt of court case concerning  stalled implementation of a judgment handed down by the SC on April 28 about promotions in the top bureaucracy.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and comprising Justice Tariq Pervez and Justice Ghulam Rabbani was hearing the contempt of court application of I N Abbasi, a CSP officer in the ministry of information.

He pleaded in his application that the government was not implementing the verdict of the apex court regarding demotion of 54 ‘baboos’ from grade 22 to grade 21.

Establishment secretary Ismail Qureshi appeared in person before the court and said that the notification whereby 54 bureaucrats had been promoted has been withdrawn in light of the apex court’s verdict. It has been clearly directed that the 54 bureaucrats who were earlier promoted to grade 22 cannot avail themselves of the facilities of the upper grade after their demotion to grade 21, he contended. The criteria have been set to promote people from grade 21 to grade 22, the secretary informed the SC bench.

“The court is very serious in this case. We are receiving complaints of non-compliance of court’s decisions…it is not a joke,” Justice Chaudhry remarked.

He pointed out that though the court had announced its verdict against the illegal promotion of 54 bureaucrats on April 28 the judgment has not been implemented in letter and spirit.

The CJP asked the establishment secretary, “Tell us who sent the fresh summary to the prime minister and we will  send him behind bars.”

Ismail Qureshi submitted that the verdict of the court has been implemented in letter and spirit, except one point of the judgment out of five, adding that the premier had called for implementing the verdict.

He submitted that after clear-cut directions from the prime minister, notification of demotion was issued by the establishment division.

Attorney General Maulvi Anwar-ul-Haq submitted before the bench that the judgment could not be fully implemented because till the time the notification was issued, the establishment division had not received the detailed judgment.

The attorney general and establishment secretary assured the bench that a new notification would be issued now in light of the verdict of this court “as now they have received the detailed judgment”.

“Put up a fresh summary before the prime minister, informing him that there would be dire consequences if the court’s judgment is not honoured,” the CJP remarked while addressing the establishment secretary.

Later, the chief justice disposed of the matter on an assurance by the attorney-general that a new notification would be issued,.

The court had ordered the government to demote grade 21 and grade 22 officers from the date they were promoted on, but the government did not issue a notification regarding the demotion of these officers from the exact date.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 18^th, 2010.