ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court directed the SC staff to supply the report of a three-member committee of the Sindh High Court (SHC) on hiring at the SHC and the Sindh’s district courts to the petitioner and others.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Aminuddin Khan, on Thursday, heard a case about allegedly illegal hiring in the SHC and the province’s district judiciary during the term of SHC Chief Justice Ahmed Ali Sheikh.

During the proceeding, the chief justice said the purpose of hearing the case was to bring transparency in the recruitment of the staff in courts. He said the registrar SHC had sent the committee’s report to them, but they have not made a final decision on it.

Munir A Malik, appearing on behalf of the SHC, stated he had not received the report. He, on behalf of the SHC, assured that in future no illegality will be committed in hiring.

The petitioner’s counsel, Khawaja Shamsul Islam, argued that in the two judicial orders, the apex court had observed against the recruitments and appointments in the SHC and the province’s lower judiciary. The chief justice remarked that the observations were of primary nature. He said the SHC five judges in three months hired 90 to 100 judges and staff in the Sindh district courts.

Justice Bandial said they have noted a relaxation of the age limit in some appointments, and an element of transfers from one to another district.

In the last hearing held in December 2021, the special bench, then comprising Justice Bandial, Justice Ijaz, and Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel, formed a committee to examine all hiring at the SHC and Sindh’s district courts and directed to submit a report by January 15, 2022.

The committee comprised of additional registrar (admin) of the Supreme Court, a deputy registrar to be nominated by the SHC and an assistant registrar (Civil-II) of the Supreme Court.

“The committee shall prepare a report of its findings on the fairness and transparency of the appointment process of staff in the district judiciary and the types and extent of the departure from the requirements of the applicable rules including the SJSSR,” the order said.

It said neither any entry test was conducted nor any marking scheme was prepared at the interview stage for the hiring of employees in the basic pay scale (BPS) five.

“On the posts of hardware and networking technician (BPS-14), computer operator (BPS-12), and junior clerk (BPS-11), candidates who had not obtained the threshold pass marks were appointed.

“For certain senior posts, namely, stenographer (BPS-16); computer operator (BPS-12); and junior clerk (BPS-11), no marking scheme in the interviews was used to assess the performance of the candidates.”For some posts, namely, stenographer (BPS-16); junior clerk (BPS-11); and bailiff (BPS-05), the marking scheme of interviews was dispensed with; and vacancies for almost all posts in the District Karachi East were not advertised,” the order said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023