The Lahore High Court on Wednesday reserved judgment on petitions of 87 public prosecutors challenging their termination by the Pakistan Muslims League-Nawaz (PML-N) government and contempt of court petitions against the Prosecution Department Punjab secretary for not referring their cases to the Punjab Pubic Service Commission for regularisation despite court’s directives.
Justice Khalid Mehmood Khan was hearing the petitions filed by the additional prosecutors and deputy public prosecutors Akbar Ali, Rahat Majeed and others.
The sacked public prosecutors were appointed in 2007 on contract basis by the former Punjab government.
The petitioners, through their counsel, told the court that the Punjab government which claimed to have high respect for judiciary had committed a blatant contempt of court twice times in this cases by not following the court’s orders about restoring the petitioners.
They said the PML-N government, terming the appointment politically motivated, sacked them in 2010 after issuance of a notification by Punjab Chief Minster Shahbaz Sharif saying contract employees working in 16 and above grades must qualify tests of PPSC to get regularised.
The public prosecutors alleged that the Punjab Prosecution Department secretary had sacked them without sending their names to the PPSC for tests and interviews while the names of PML-N favoured prosecutors were referred to the PPSC with recommendation for regularisation.
They said the LHC on March 30 had issued stay orders against their termination, directing the Punjab government through the Punjab Prosecution Department secretary to allow them to continue service till the expiry of their contracts on July 4. However the Punjab government did not obey the orders.
