SYED SAAD ALI vs FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN THROUGH SECRETARY MINISTRY — 2026 PLC(CS) 93 SUPREME-COURT

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SYED SAAD ALI VS FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN THROUGH SECRETARY MINISTRY. S. 27---Civil Aviation Authority Service Regulations, 2000, Regln. 21(1)---Contract employment---Vires of law, challenge to---Provision of law [i.e. Regulation 21(1) of Regulations, 2000] limiting contract service to a maximum of five years was challenged by the employees---High Court's omission to adjudicate upon the question of vires of the law---Effect and validity---'Sub-silentio', doctrine of---Applicability and scope---Incidence where a court decides a lis without appreciating or addressing a particular point of law raised before it---Legality---Decision rendered without addressing a specific question of law raised before it lacks authoritative weight---Supreme Court remanded the matter to High Court for fresh adjudication---Facts in brevity were that the petitioners (contract employees) were appointed on a contract basis in various posts within the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) after qualifying a merit-based recruitment process and thereafter challenged Regulation 21(1) of the revised CAA Service Regulations, 2019, which limited contract service to a maximum of five years, seeking declaration of their appointments as regular and the said Regulation as ultra vires the Constitution for infringing their fundamental rights---Petitioners' contracts were initially for two years and were extended periodically and later were denied further renewal---Petitioners (contract employees) contended that the posts they held were of a permanent nature, hence, their continued service warranted regularization, and the impugned regulation enabling fixed-term contracts for permanent posts was unreasonable and without statutory backing---The High Court while dismissing the petitions, confined itself to holding that CAA had no statutory rules, without adjudicating upon the plea of ultra vires raised against Regulation 21(1) of the Regulations, 2000---Held: It was an admitted position that the High Court neither considered the plea of vires of the Regulation under challenge nor discussed anything in this regard in the impugned judgment which completely ignored and overlooked the same---Therefore, doctrine of 'sub silentio' was applicable to the present matter since the impugned judgment was rendered without specifically and precisely avowing or attending to the question of law raised for determination---Impugned judgment was set aside and the matter was remanded to the High Court for fresh adjudication---Civil petitions were converted into appeals and were allowed, in circumstances.

SYED SAAD ALI vs FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN THROUGH SECRETARY MINISTRY — 2026 PLC(CS) 93 SUPREME-COURT

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