KARACHI: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday declared permanent appointments in Sindh government in BPS-17 and above without the process of the public service commission illegal.

During a hearing at the Karachi registry of the apex court, the court reviewed a case pertaining to the appointment of officials in Sindh in grades over BPS-16 on a permanent basis.

The Supreme Court directed the Sindh government to submit a reply to the matter by Thursday and remarked that any permanent appointment in grades over BPS-16 without public service commission exam was against the law.

"If contract employees had to be given a permanent status then it should have been carried out through the public service commission," the court remarked while terming appointments in BPS-16 on contract an entirely different matter.

The apex court remarked that they would give their decision as per the law, without considering whatever mechanism the provincial government applies for the appointments.

In April this year, the Sindh High Court (SHC) ruled that contract officers from grade 16 and above cannot be regularized without clearing the public service commission's exam.

Hearing a case, a two-member bench of the SHC headed by Justice Nadeem Akhtar nullified the regularization of those contractual officers whose job had been confirmed without passing the commission's exam in the province.

Procedure for regularization of contract officers from grade 16 and above has already been defined in the public service rules, ruled the court.

After completing the contract period, the officers could not claim for regularization.

The SHC directed the Sindh chief secretary to present the list of those officers who had been regularized without passing the exam before the court.