Health Allowance and Reasonable Classification — Supreme Court Upholds Distinction Between Devolved and Provincial Employees (2025 PLC (C.S.) 533)
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2025 P L C (C.S.) 533
[Supreme Court of Pakistan]
Present: Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, JJ
GUL ZARIF KHAN and others
Versus
GOVERNMENT OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA through Chief Secretary, Peshawar and others
Civil Petitions Nos. 1925 to 2006 of 2024, decided on 5th November, 2024.
(On appeal from the Judgment dated 12.02.2024 passed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Service Tribunal, Peshawar in Service Appeals Nos. 1620, 1622 to 1624, 1626 to 1628, 1001, 1022,1052, 698, 723 of 2022, 1529, 999 of 2022, 1043, 687, 1049, 1039, 970, 976, 978, 958, 1736, 1053, 1026, 971, 1000, 1032, 711, 1033, 1009, 973, 686 of 2022, 1525 of 2023, 995, 1041, 1045, 758, 968, 956, 1017 of 2022, 1514 of 2023, 957, 1003 of 2022, 1524, 1522, 1520 of 2023, 1050, 961, 977, 1047, 1036, 1048, 751, 1020 of 2022, 1516 of 2023, 689, 994 of 2022, 1518 of 2023, 974, 1515, 1013 of 2022, 1523 of 2023, 738, 1028, 757, 955, 966 of 2022, 1527 of 2023, 1008 of 2022, 1511 of 2023, 967, 1056, 986, 708, 1002, 1016, 992, 959, 1023 and 714 of 2022).
(a) Career Structure for Health Personnel Scheme Ordinance (VI of 2011)---
----S. 2(b)---Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Service Tribunals Act (I of 1974), S.4---Constitution of Pakistan, Arts. 4 & 25---Service benefits---Discrimination---Health allowance---Devolved employees---Petitioners / civil servants were aggrieved of the fact that they were not given health allowance which was being given to devolved employees in same department---Appeals filed by petitioners/civil servants were dismissed by Service Tribunal---Validity---Petitioners/civil servants were not in the category of devolved employees who became employees of the Province by virtue of 18th Amendment to the Constitution---Petitioners/civil servants were employees of the Province since the beginning, whereas benefit of allowance was only extended to devolved employees who were covered under section 2 (b) of Career Structure for Health Personnel Scheme Ordinance, 2011---No such law or rule was ever promulgated by Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for extending same benefits to originally employed persons to be treated alike---Supreme Court declined to interfere in judgment passed by Service Tribunal---Petition for leave to appeal was dismissed and leave to appeal was refused.
Federation of Pakistan through Secretary Capital Administration and Development Division, Islamabad and others v. Nusrat Tahir and others 2018 PLC (C.S.) 669 ref.
(b) Constitution of Pakistan---
----Art. 25---Discrimination---Intelligible differentia, principle of---Applicability---Persons may be classified into groups and such groups may be treated differently if there is a reasonable basis for such difference---Principle of equality does not imply or connote that every law must have universal application to all class of persons---Oscillating or wavering needs of dissimilar sets of persons, which may have little in common, can be treated differently on logical perspicacity---For such classification to meet standards of fairness, self-actualization of two vital constituents must be fulfilled---Classification must be founded on an intelligible differentia which may judiciously distinguish persons or things that are grouped together from others left out of the group, and second, the differentia must have a logical and sensible nexus with the object sought to be achieved---Expression "intelligible differentia" insinuates an act of exodus capable of making sense.
Pakcom Limited v. Federation of Pakistan PLD 2011 SC 44 rel.
(c) Constitution of Pakistan---
----Arts. 184(3) & 199---Judicial review---Government policy---Scope---Court under power of judicial review of governmental policy can neither act or represent itself as an appellate authority with the aim of scrutinizing rightness or aptness of a policy nor may it act as an advisor to the executives on matters of policy which they are entitled to formulate---However, judicial review can be sought when a decision-maker fails to observe statutory procedures; misdirects itself in law; exercises a power wrongly; improperly purports to exercise a power that it does not have; or the policy decision was so unreasonable that no reasonable authority could ever have come to it.
Federation of Pakistan v. Shuja Sharif 2023 SCMR 129 and Syed Azam Shah v. Federation of Pakistan 2022 SCMR 201 rel.
Noor Muhammad Khattak, Advocate Supreme Court and Anis Muhammad Shahzad, Advocate-on-Record for Petitioners.
Muzammil Khan, Additional Advocate General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa along with Qayum Khan, Deputy Director and Abdur Rasheed, Deputy Secretary Finance for Respondents.
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