The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), Pakistan’s constitutional court after the 27th Amendment reshaped the apex structure, on Friday warned the Punjab and federal governments against ignoring Supreme Court verdicts, saying disregard or delay amounts to challenging the very framework of the legal system.
The observation came while a three-member bench headed by FCC Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan heard contempt petitions over failure to implement a December 17, 2021 Supreme Court judgement. That order had converted review proceedings into jurisdiction under Article 184(3)—a constitutional power used to protect fundamental rights—to safeguard the right to livelihood of sacked government employees.
What the FCC said
In a 10-page order, Justice Ali Baqar Najafi stressed that Supreme Court verdicts issued when that court was the country’s apex court remain legal mandates, not recommendations or advisories. Compliance, the FCC said, is a constitutional requirement, not a courtesy.
“In a constitutional democracy, the rule of law is not just a principle but the foundation upon which the legitimacy of good governance in any system of government rests,” Justice Najafi observed. Non-compliance, he emphasised, unsettles the balance between judicial authority and rights enforcement and sets a dangerous precedent for executive overreach. If people or institutions can sidestep court orders, public trust in the judiciary and government would be seriously undermined, ultimately risking the democratic system.
The 2021 jobs dispute behind the contempt cases
The review petitions had challenged the Supreme Court’s August 17, 2021 judgement, which declared the PPP-era Sacked Employees (Reinstatement) Ordinance Act 2010 (Sera) illegal and unconstitutional and left almost 17,000 government employees without jobs. Those workers belonged to the Intelligence Bureau, the Commissioner Afghan Refugees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the National Highway Authority, PTCL, the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation, State Life Insurance Corporation, the Civil Aviation Authority, WAPDA, Sui Southern Gas Company and the Trading Corporation of Pakistan.
The December 2021 judgement required beneficiary employees to sit relevant tests for their posts, to be arranged by the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC)—the federal body that runs competitive exams for government jobs—within three months. Conducting aptitude, academic or skills tests was the employer’s duty. If tests were never held, that failure could not be held against employees who had never refused to appear.
Employees not at fault, FCC holds
The FCC noted that the workers had been hired by one government, terminated by another, reinstated by a later government, and then hit when the 2010 Act was struck down. They had committed no fault. Because departments did not offer the tests, the court held that the conditions imposed on the employees were waived or diluted by the passage of time and official lethargy, not by any failing of the staff. “Such conduct cannot be rewarded with any sentence of appreciation,” the judgement said, adding that employers’ inaction warranted caution and reflected a sorry state of affairs.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- August 17, 2021: The Supreme Court declares the Sacked Employees (Reinstatement) Ordinance Act 2010 illegal and unconstitutional, leaving almost 17,000 government employees jobless.
- December 17, 2021: In related review proceedings converted under Article 184(3), the Supreme Court orders steps to protect the employees’ right to livelihood, including FPSC tests within three months.
- Friday: The FCC, hearing contempt petitions against the Punjab and federal governments over non-implementation, warns that ignoring or delaying Supreme Court verdicts challenges the legal system’s framework and holds that test conditions were diluted by departmental delay.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Federal Constitutional Court ne hukumat ko kaha hai ke Supreme Court ke faislay nazarandaz mat karo. Yeh faislay pehle se mulazimeen ki naukriyon se jude hue hain, jinhein 2021 mein qanoon ghalat qarar diye jane ke baad nuksaan hua. Court ke mutabiq mulazimeen ka qasoor nahi; tests na karwane ki deri idaron ki hai. Aam logon ke liye yeh baat zaroori hai ke adalti hukm manna hukumati farz hai, warna qanoon ka nizaam kamzor ho sakta hai.
