The Sindh High Court on Monday reserved its verdict on three identical petitions filed by Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC)’s 249 officers against their termination. After listening to the arguments of both parties, the single bench of Justice Muneeb Akhtar directed the KESC management to pay the salaries to former deputy general manager Shahnawaz and 44 other officers within 15 days as per the previous order of the High Court.
In April last year, the KESC management had dismissed its 249 permanent officers, following which Shahnawaz with 44 others, Azhar Khwaja with 49 others and Jabbar Darr filed three separate law suits at the High Court through their lawyer Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed. The petitioners said that the KESC management, in violation of the privatisation agreement, had amended the officers’ rules on service policy, which was arbitrary, and terminated the services of 294 employees without providing them with any reason. The counsel said that dismissing the employees was unlawful as there was no consent of the plaintiffs regarding their termination and the act of the defendant was against the law. The High Court stayed the termination orders of the officers.
The KESC management filed an appeal against the order, but it was rejected in June last year. The management then filed a petition against the orders of the High Court at the Supreme Court. The apex court’s bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry disposed of the petition and converted a portion of the appeal and remanded it back to the High Court.
