Darkness beneath the lamp

While our courts are quite busy hearing or heading different cases which are making the whole nation unnerved such as Mehran bank scam, May 2 commission, Mansoor Ijaz memo commission, contempt of court case etc, some strange things are happening within the court as well.

As per a news report, the Supreme Court has extended the services of its grade-22 registrar, who is already on contract after the retirement, for another two years.

Though most of the PCO judges are persona non grata inside the Supreme court building, however, this is not applicable to a few who are getting attractive jobs with required blessings – one PCO judge is now head of federal judicial academy while another one is looking after Supreme Court’s human rights cell – all grade-22 jobs (of course on contract!). A 19-grade additional registrar has been given charge of grade-21 position. Not only this, the seniority rule has been bypassed while promoting a few out of their turn. For such lucrative promotions, nepotism is the keyword.

Now few of the disheartened employees of the Supreme Court have decided to challenge all these anomalies in the court – no officers to be on contract after retirement (as the federal government is being advised day and night), PCO judges not to be reinstated, seniority rule not to be bypassed and judicial officers can’t be placed in administrative positions.

I don’t know which court is going to hear this case against the working of the Supreme Court, if ever one does, but rest assured we know the outcome.

MASOOD KHAN

Jubail, Saudi Arabia