The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday declared the posting of Capital Development Authority (CDA) Planning Deputy Director General (DDG) Ghulam Sarwar Sandhu as null and void.
The court also renounced the additional charge of Housing Societies director from Sandhu ordering CDA to appoint new deputy DG and director by following set regulations.
A single member bench of the IHC comprising Justice Noor-ul-Haq Qureshi resumed hearing of a plea filed by Muhammad Qasim challenging the posting of Sandhu to the post of DDG who is also the current charge of DG Planning, a BPS-20 post.
During the course of hearing, counsel for the petitioner Hafiz Arafat Ahmad apprised the bench of the entire process of appointment of Sandhu against which was completed in haste under extraneous circumstances. Therefore, the appointment of the respondent against the post of Director Housing Societies is illegal and without lawful authority. He said appointment is also in negation to provisions of General Clauses Act 1897 which made it obligatory upon all public functionaries to act fairly, justly and strictly in accordance with the law. Sandhu’s appointment as Director Housing Societies and his subsequent elevation to DDG (Planning) has been made in patent violation of Article 4, 9 and 25 of the Constitution, he argued. No advertisement was ever published by CDA conveying to all eligible aspirants about vacancy of Director Housing Societies thereby depriving them to compete for the said post, he added.
He contended that due to Sandhu’s illegal appointment credible officers who topped the seniority list were forced to serve as subordinate.
The counsel argued that as per CDA Service Regulations all appointments in BPS-18 and above need to be filled in through promotion. Thus there is no provision of law for making direct recruitment to the post of Director in BPS-19 as CDA has done in the case of Sandhu. Therefore, this act was liable to be reversed by this court in exercise of its constitutional jurisdiction.
He added that as the very first order of his appointment as Director Housing Societies is illegal, all subsequent orders passed in his favour, assigning him current charge of DG (Planning), would have no legal effect.
Because the petitioner contended that if the basic order is illegal then the entire superstructure built thereon is liable to fall to the ground.
