GUL SHAIR JALBANI vs PROVINCE OF SINDH through Chief Secretary, Karachi art

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GUL SHAIR JALBANI VS PROVINCE OF SINDH through Chief Secretary, Karachi art.199---Civil service---Transfers and postings of government servants---Constitutional jurisdiction of the High Court, exercise of---Courts interference in matters of transfers and postings---Exclusive domain of executive/competent authority---Scope---Employee seeking posting of his choice---Legality---The petitioner was a BS-16 government servant appointed as town officer who challenged his transfer order which relocated him to another station and his previous post was assigned to another officer---Initially the first transfer order was issued which subsequently was withdrawn by the authority before issuing the second transfer order which was impugned in the present Constitutional petition---The petitioner claimed that the transfer was arbitrary, violative of natural justice, and infringed upon his constitutional rights, prompting him to seek relief from the Court including suspension of the impugned order and reinstatement to his original post---Held: The conduct of the petitioner (employee), on the face of the record, prima facie suggested an attempt to have his initial transfer order annulled through political influence---Upon withdrawal of the said order by the competent department, the petitioner then approached the High Court seeking to retain his current posting at the same location where he had been stationed previously---Clause 'c' of the prayer in the petition clearly revealed that the petitioner was desirous of continuing his previous posting rather than assuming charge at the location to which he was duly transferred---Such practices, whereby civil servants sought to manipulate their postings through extraneous and unauthorized means, had to be firmly discouraged---The judicial forum could not be used to legitimize such conduct which undermined the discipline and neutrality of public service---Therefore, petitioner had not approached the High Court with clean hands and had sought discretionary relief whilst being tainted by mala fide intent and extralegal conduct---Power of transfer and posting only lay within the exclusive domain of the competent authority and constituted an administrative prerogative which was not amenable to judicial scrutiny on the basis of unsubstantiated or frivolous assertions---Employees possessed no vested or enforceable right to challenge or obstruct their transfer, save in strict accordance with the law---No illegality or malice in the impugned transfer order was pointed out---Constitutional petition was dismissed, in circumstances.

GUL SHAIR JALBANI vs PROVINCE OF SINDH through Chief Secretary, Karachi art — 2025 PLC(CS) 1192 KARACHI-HIGH-COURT-SINDH

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