ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has dismissed a contempt of court petition against Lok Virsa Executive Director Dr Fouzia Saeed in a re-instatement case.
Justice Athar Minallah on Thursday dismissed a contempt of court petition that was filed by Muhammad Irshad, a former daily-wage assistant at Lok Virsa, against Lok Virsa management seeking his re-instatement on his post.
The petitioner, who is habitual of filing frivolous petitions to malign the premier cultural body of the country, had filed the plea alleging that the Lok Virsa had committed contempt by not complying the court order for his re-instatement. He also fed the news to some electronic media channels, which ran the contempt of court news in their news bulletins and as ticker without verifying the facts.
When the court asked the counsel for the petitioner to produce any such order of the court, he failed to do so. On insistence of the court, it turned out that the court had previously not issued any such order to the Lok Virsa management for the petitioner’s re-instatement. Hence no question of contempt of court arises.
The court while disposing of the petition on February 23, 2016, had directed Irshad to approach the Cabinet Sub-committee on Regularisation of Contractual and Daily Wage Employees for remedy. The Lok Virsa management sent the petitioner’s along with other cases to the Cabinet body in April 2016.
Background of the case
Putting the matter in perspective, the Lok Virsa counsel said that the government in 2006 assigned Lok Virsa to build a National Monument Museum at Shakarparian. After its completion instead of handing over the project to the federal government, the museum was entrusted to Lok Virsa on April 18, 2011. As there was no separate budgetary allocation for the museum, the remunerations of the daily wage staff were paid from the income of the museum. Hence the daily wagers were not regular staff of the Lok Virsa.
The petitioner was hired on October 20, 2011, on a daily wage to assist the management at the Monument Museum. He was sacked by then executive director on June 30, 2012, for gross negligence in performing his duties during VIP visits to the museum. However, he was given a second chance to serve in the organisation as shift in-charge at the museum on contract basis on Sept 10, 2012.
He was again given a chance in August 2013 by then ED on special grounds.
He submitted an appeal to the Information and Broadcasting secretary in Sept 2013 and also filed a writ petition with the IHC in 2014 for regularisation of his service but no avail. However, the ED also revoked the petitioner’s contract of employment on December 1, 2015.
The petitioner again moved the IHC in 2015 seeking regularisation of his service. On September 16, 2016, he made a request to the Lok Virsa director with the undertaking that he will withdraw the case if the Lok Virsa and Pakistan Monument Museum management provide him with an opportunity. The ED turned down his request noting that the case has already been disposed of by the court.
Irshad appeared almost two months after the cutoff date of August 31. Hence, he lost the chance and the right to be regularised under the policy formulated by the government.
