SHAHBAZ LATIF vs DIG, PAKISTAN RAILWAYS HEADQUARTERS OFFICE, LAHORE Considerable length of service

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SHAHBAZ LATIF VS DIG, PAKISTAN RAILWAYS HEADQUARTERS OFFICE, LAHORE Considerable length of service---Appointment later found to have been procured through misrepresentation---Dismissal from service---Retrospective recovery of salary---Scope---Petitioner, after rendering services for fifteen years, was dismissed on account of defect in his initial appointment, and salaries received by him were also held recoverable---Validity---Though a public employment secured through misrepresentation or tampered credentials is void ab initio and confers no vested right upon the appointee, nonetheless, the issue of retrospective salary recovery for services rendered over a significant period engages broader principles of fairness, equity, and administrative accountability---In the present case, after fifteen years of continuous and uninterrupted service of petitioner, the Department initiated an inquiry into educational credentials of the petitioner---There is no material on record to show that the petitioner deliberately concealed or suppressed his academic record during this time or resisted verification---On the contrary, service of the petitioner was accepted, utilized, and remunerated without demur or objection---Petitioner had indeed discharged all assigned responsibilities without lapse---In such circumstances, the employer having accepted and benefited from fifteen years of unblemished service cannot now seek restitution of benefits already consumed---Principles of equity, good conscience, and public interest dictate that in the absence of fraud or dishonest conduct by the employee, retrospective recovery of wages is unjust---The recovery of salary for services lawfully and diligently performed is impermissible, notwithstanding defects in the initial appointment---Thus, the order for recovery in the present case is arbitrary, excessive, and in clear violation of equitable principles---Supreme Court set-aside the impugned judgment to the extent of recovery of salary from the petitioner, however, the petitioner's dismissal from service, on account of ineligibility at the time of appointment, would remain intact---Petition was converted into an appeal and was partially allowed accordingly.

SHAHBAZ LATIF vs DIG, PAKISTAN RAILWAYS HEADQUARTERS OFFICE, LAHORE Considerable length of service — 2025 PLC(CS) 1022 SUPREME-COURT

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