Supreme Court: Sindh police seniority cannot be changed without hearing officials

ISLAMABAD (Atemad Desk): The Supreme Court has accepted review petitions in a case concerning the seniority of Sindh police personnel and withdrawn its earlier order of 2024. The court has issued its written judgment.

The judgment holds that changing an official’s seniority without hearing him is contrary to Article 10A of the Constitution. Even if seniority was granted in violation of the rules, it cannot be changed without hearing the affected employee’s side.

The court wrote that seniority is a valuable right of an employee, on which his career and chances of promotion depend. However, seniority alone does not automatically entitle a person to promotion, and this must be decided in the light of the relevant law and rules. According to the judgment, the first bench had overlooked the important point that the affected personnel were not given a chance to be heard.

The Supreme Court set aside the decision of the Service Tribunal. It directed the department to hear all affected personnel, including the petitioners, and give a reasoned decision. If the objections are found to be valid and the change in seniority is proved unlawful, a new seniority list is to be issued within two months. The judgment was written by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar. Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan were also on the bench.