MUHAMMAD RASHID SIDDIQI vs ASADULLAH KHAN Ss — 2026 PLC(CS) 596 KARACHI-HIGH-COURT-SINDH

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MUHAMMAD RASHID SIDDIQI VS ASADULLAH KHAN Ss. 11, 15, 43 & 49---Civil Procedure Code (V of 1908), O. XXXIX, Rr. 1 & 2---Penal Code (XLV of 1860), S. 21---Appointment in Karachi Water and SewerageCorporation, assailingof---Temporary injunction sought---Ingredients for grant of temporary injunction, absence of---Petitioner (an employee of the Karachi Water and SewerageCorporation / KWSC) was aggrieved thattherespondents, (two other employees of KWSC) were holding posts of CEO and Deputy Managing Director (Technical Services) against the relevant law---Validity---Law currently applicable to the KWSC was the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation Act, 2023 ('the Act, 2023') , whichstatute repealed the previous Karachi Water and Sewerage Board Act, 1996, ('the Act') however, certain savings were made as listed in S. 49 of the Act---Prima facie, S. 43 of the Act provides that every employee of the Corporation shall be deemed to be a "public servant within the meaning of S. 21 of the Pakistan Penal Code---Prima facie, the employees of the Corporation are not civil servants---Section 11 of the Act, 2023 provides that the Chief Executive Officer should be below 65 ,which one of the respondents was---Section 15 of the Act, 2023 provides that the Chief Operating Officer should have proven technical qualifications and relevant experience---Therefore , theappointment of both gentlemen (respondents) prima facie does not breach the law in the field---Law does not stipulate that a retired person cannot be appointed to these posts, nor does the law stipulate that only aparticular grade can hold such a post---Petitioner has failed to make out a prima facie case---The KWSC controls the supply of potable water and sewage disposal in Karachi;although its efficacy in said regard has remained debatable, as the residents of a large part of Karachi continue to be deprived of potable water and sewage, and as a consequence, residents of Karachi are compelled to buy water at exorbitant rates, however, improving the workings of the KWSC is a matter best left to the executive;the matter in front ofHigh Court is not public interest litigation---At the same time, the efforts taken by KWSC should also not be brushed under the carpet asKarachi is a vast city, and stopping the senior officials from work can potentially cause irreparable loss and damage to the people of Karachi---Therefore, thebalance of convenience also laid in favour of KWSC---The working and functioning of the government must not be hindered; if it was, the already chaotic city of Karachi would further suffer and neither KWSC nor the petitioner, but the people of Karachi, would be the biggest casualty---Presentcase related to basically a self-acknowledged whistleblower who, after passage of two and a half years, realized that certain appointments at the senior level were made incorrectly in KWSC---High Court could notinterfere with the government's running---Courts must not interfere in executive matters unless a clear breach of law was demonstrated---All three main governing principles of injunctions were in favor the Corporation/KWSC---High Court recalled earlierinterim order whereas the Corporation had initiated the process of appointing a permanent Chief Executive Officer and the same be appointed within two months complyingwith all conditions stipulated by the applicable law, rules, and regulations---Application seeking staywas dismissed.

MUHAMMAD RASHID SIDDIQI vs ASADULLAH KHAN Ss — 2026 PLC(CS) 596 KARACHI-HIGH-COURT-SINDH

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