FAROOQ AHMED vs SECRETARY, BALOCHISTAN PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY, QUETTA Rr — 2024 SCMR 2034 SUPREME-COURT

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FAROOQ AHMED VS SECRETARY, BALOCHISTAN PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY, QUETTA Rr. 6 & 8(a) & Sched. A---Balochistan Provincial Assembly Secretariat, appointment in---Non-transparency in appointment---Conflict of interest---Petitioner was appointed as Deputy Secretary BS-18 (Legislative Drafting) in the Assembly Secretariat while his father was serving as its Secretary---Mode of appointment adopted by the Secretariat was through initial recruitment---Qualifications and conditions described in the advertisement appear to have been tailored to restrict the eligibility criteria to a limited number of candidates which included the petitioner---High Court had rightly observed that there was no justifiable reason for such restriction and that it violated the principle of transparency---However, the petitioner was one of the very few candidates who met the restricted eligibility criteria described in the advertisement---Selection committee was reconstituted by the Secretary i.e. the petitioner's father, while under the Balochistan Provincial Assembly Secretariat (Recruitment) Rules, 2009 ('Rules of 2009') the Speaker was the competent authority and there was nothing on record to show that the latter's approval was sought---Entire recruitment process i.e. approval for appointment through the mode of initial recruitment, setting out the qualifications and conditions regarding eligibility, reconstitution of the selection committee, failing to place the cases of Assistant Secretaries before the competent forum for assessing their eligibility and, subsequently, the petitioner's appointment were in clear breach of the Rules of 2009---It was not disputed that the method of recruitment explicitly prescribed to fill the post of Deputy Secretary BS-18 under Schedule A of the Rules of 2009 was by promotion from amongst the Assistant Secretaries (BS-17) on seniority cum fitness basis and possessing five years' service as such---No process was undertaken by the competent authority to assess whether Assistant Secretaries (BS-17) were eligible to be considered for promotion in accordance with the qualifications and conditions prescribed under the Rules of 2009---Entire process was adopted to benefit the petitioner who happened to be the son of the Secretary of the Assembly Secretariat---Latter had given approvals for undertaking the recruitment process and had only recused himself belatedly and that too to the extent of chairing the meeting of the selection committee---It thus raised profound questions in the context of conflict of interest---Present case was a classic example of abuse of public power in order to benefit a family member---Petitions were dismissed.

FAROOQ AHMED vs SECRETARY, BALOCHISTAN PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY, QUETTA Rr — 2024 SCMR 2034 SUPREME-COURT

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