TASSAWAR ALI KHAN RANA vs PROVINCE OF PUNJAB through Chief Secretary Punjab, Civil Secretariat, Lahore arts

Fields are extracted from the reported citation and judgment text. Where a detail is not stated in the record, it is not shown.

TASSAWAR ALI KHAN RANA VS PROVINCE OF PUNJAB through Chief Secretary Punjab, Civil Secretariat, Lahore arts.199 & 212---Service Tribunals act (LXX 1973), S.4---Punjab Criminal Prosecution Service (Constitution, Functions and Powers) act (III of 2006), S.8(3), proviso,---Punjab Criminal Prosecution Service (Conditions of Service) Rules 2007, R.10---Constitutional petition by civil servants, filing of---Maintainability---Jurisdiction of Service Tribunals---Civil servants challenging vires of law---Plea of violation of fundamental rights---Scope---Civil servants cannot invoke Constitutional jurisdiction of the High Court even for challenging vires of law/notification/amendment or by taking a plea of violation of fundamental rights---Brief facts of the matter were that the petitioners, serving as prosecutors under the prosecution department, filed Constitutional petition challenging various legislative amendments and administrative orders---The core contention was that such amendments and orders adversely impacted their service rights and were unconstitutional---Pivotal question for determination before the High Court was as to "whether civil servants governed under the Punjab Civil Servants act, 1974, could invoke the Constitutional jurisdiction of the High Court under art. 199 of the Constitution to challenge statutory amendments and administrative actions affecting their terms and conditions of service, or whether their exclusive remedy lay before the Punjab Service Tribunal under art. 212 of the Constitution"---Held: Except the post of Prosecutor General, rest of the employees of prosecution service were governed under the Punjab Civil Servants act, 1974 (the "act, 1974") and Rules made thereunder and as such they fell in the definition of civil servants---Petitioners (leaving aside the point whether they were civil servants or public servants) could not invoke the Constitutional jurisdiction of the High Court for challenging the legality of law, notification, amendment or rules---appropriate remedy for a civil servant was by way of an appeal before the Service Tribunal even where the case involved vires of a particular service rule or a notification---Even if a statutory rule or notification adversely affected terms and conditions of a civil servant, the same would be treated as a final order for the purposes of jurisdiction of a service tribunal---If vires of a notification or amendment in law, dealing directly or indirectly with terms and conditions of service of a civil servant, were permitted to be challenged through a Constitutional petition, it would amount to violating art. 212 of the Constitution and S. 4 of the act 1974---It was concluded that being civil servants, appropriate remedy for the petitioners to voice their grievance relating to terms and conditions of service and to challenge the vitality of any law (including notification and amendment introduced by government) was to approach the Service Tribunal instead of invoking Constitutional jurisdiction of the High Court---Petition was dismissed, in circumstances.

TASSAWAR ALI KHAN RANA vs PROVINCE OF PUNJAB through Chief Secretary Punjab, Civil Secretariat, Lahore arts — 2025 PLC(CS) 1051 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE

Case information

Judgment text as reported

Other judgments reported in 2025 PLC