The Lahore High Court has called for reports from Secretary Health in a petition filed by Dr Muhammad Tariq Hameed and others challenging the contract policy of the government health department. The petitioner contended that they are qualified and post-graduate doctors with good academic and service record and are eligible for posting as senior registrar, associate professors and professors.
They said contract appointment policy 2004 was introduced which was contrary to the Punjab Medical and Health Institution Act 2003. Certain appointments were made in health department while senior most doctors had a legitimate expectation to be considered for the appointment on higher posts in absence of any concrete and valid reason.
The senior cadre posts were never advertised yet and the contract employees were regularised without open competition and the present petitioners had been deprived of their right of promotion and seniority in an arbitrary manner. The process of promotion has been closed which is a fundamental right of the petitioners.
The senior doctors have become junior to their former students due to regularisation of contract appointees. The appointments were made on the basis of personal liking and hence action of the government was arbitrary and discriminatory. The petitioners therefore prayed to the court through their counsel Mirza Aamir Baig to declare the appointments in the health department on contract basis of contract policy of 2004 as illegal and null and void.
They also prayed to the court to set aside the notifications of regularisation of contract appointees and suspend the same till the disposal of the petition. The court after hearing their counsel Miraz Aamir Baig at length called for report and comments from Secretary Health and others without fixing next date of hearing.