In the works: High court stays promotion of medical, dental officers

Over 20 file petition demanding regularisation from date of employment.

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has stayed the promotions of medical officers and dental surgeons of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa health department till further orders.

The order was issued by the bench of Justice Irshad Qaiser while hearing a petition filed by 22 medical officers and dental surgeons through their counsel Muhammad Ayub Shinwari. The court also sought comments from the K-P chief secretary and health secretary before the next date of hearing, which is yet to be fixed.



Shinwari told the court his clients were appointed as medical officers and dental surgeons in various health institutions of the province and the tribal areas on different dates. They were appointed on grade-17 on a contractual basis. The contracts were then extended from time to time.

He told the court the K-P government promulgated the Civil Servants (Amendment) Act 2005 through which the services of all contractual employees were regularised. However, the government was reluctant to regularize the services of these 22 officers, contended the lawyer.

“They approached the high court, which ordered to regularize their services. This was done, but with effect from different dates despite the fact that all petitioners are similarly placed,” reads the petition.

It adds that the government has not implemented the said act in a consistent manner because contractual employees have been regularised from different dates. The petition contends the services of these officers fall squarely in the ambit of the Civil Servants (Amendment) Act 2013.

The medical officers and surgeons have asked the court to direct the government to issue revised regularisation orders for the petitioners with effect from the initial date of employment and that they also be granted graded pay and seniority. They also demanded pension benefits in order to bring their employment up to par with their contemporaries.

After hearing the arguments, the court issued notices to the chief secretary and health secretary to submit written replies before the next hearing. In the meantime, the court has stayed the promotion of medical officers in the health department.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2014.