The Supreme Court (SC) has declared void promotions of 80 bureaucrats of grade 21 and 22 made during the tenure of former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.
Canceling the notification of promotion of these bureaucrats on Thursday, the SC ordered holding the promotion board meeting afresh for deciding the cases under the norms of merit.
A three-member SC bench presided over by Chief Justice (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry pronounced the judgement. The other members of bench were Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ejaz Chaudhry.
The verdict was reserved on July 12 on a petition filed by Oria Maqbool Jan whereby the petitioner had challenged these promotions.
It has been said in the decision that the erstwhile government had promoted all these bureaucrats on political consideration rather than principle of merit. “These illegal promotions have encroached upon the rights of the officers. The incumbent government should decide about the promotions of these officers in keeping with new promotion policy-2013. New promotions be made in consonance with norms of merit, civil servant act and promotion policy. Honest and dutiful officers be promoted on the senior posts,” the order read.
It was further said in the order that promotions be granted not on the basis of political affiliations and all such promotions be declared null and void.
The court maintained that the decisions taken by the Central Selection Board (CSB) in connection with the promotion of 80 bureaucrats were not transparent. “Therefore, these promotions are declared null and void.”