Decision reversed: High court reinstates 796 prison warders

Sets aside cancellation order issued in February.

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday reinstated 796 prison warders whose recruitment was revoked by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government last month.

Justice Roohul Amin Khan and Justice Syed Afsar Shah set aside the cancellation order for the appointments of jail warders in various prisons across the province.

In total, 796 prison warders had been recruited in January. However, senior officials and political figures voiced reservations about the hiring process and sacked them within 25 days of their appointment. The warders protested against the decision outside Central Prison Peshawar and subsequently approached the high court to challenge the cancellation order. Earlier, on February 25, the high court restrained the government from filling the posts of the jail warders.

During Thursday’s hearing, the court approved the petition filed by the prison warders.

Superintendent Headquarters Masoodur Rehman assured the court the appointments were made on the basis of merit and all legal procedures had been complied with. According to Rehman, he issued the cancellation order on the directives of the provincial government.

Muhammad Ijaz Sabi, counsel for the petitioners, informed the court his clients were appointed for the posts after the relevant authorities took written and medical fitness tests and conducted interviews.

“However, on February 16, a cancellation order was issued,” the counsel said. “The order did not mention any reasons for the revocation. Moreover, no show-cause notices were issued and the jail warders were not given the option of a personal hearing.” Sabi added the petitioners had applied for the posts in response to an advertisement published on February 23, 2014.

According to the petition, the sacked employees had fallen prey to a political rivalry within the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government. “Some days before the cancellation order was issued, a group of MPAs voiced their grievances in the K-P Assembly for ignoring them during the hiring process,” stated the petition.

It added, “It appears the superintendent headquarters gave into the demands of these agitated MPAs and issued the cancellation order.”

Sabi insisted his clients should not be penalised for the irregularities by public functionaries in the appointment process.

After hearing the arguments, the court set aside the cancellation order and reinstated the jail warders.

A large number of warders who had been removed from services attended the court proceedings. Following their reinstatement, they rejoiced outside the court premises.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 20^th, 2015.