PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday accepted a writ petition filed against the supersession of a Grade-20 District Management Group (DMG) officer and directed the Federal Selection Board to reconsider the promotion case.
A two-member bench of the PHC comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Inamullah Khan, heard the petitioner Shahid Zaman’s case for promotion to Grade 21.Counsel for the petitioner, Ali Gauhar Durrani, appeared before the court, while assistant attorney general represented the federation.
The petitioner’s counsel informed the court that his client is a Grade-20 officer of the DMG, known for his integrity and competence. He stated that the Central Selection Board was convened from March 11 to March 24, 2024, to consider promotions of Grade-20 officers to Grade 21, and the petitioner was among those under consideration.
However, five months after the meeting, on August 7, 2024, the petitioner received an office memorandum stating that he had been superseded for promotion. Subsequently, he challenged the decision before the PHC.
The counsel argued that the Central Selection Board failed to provide reasons for superseding his client, despite his Annual Confidential Reports reflecting outstanding and very good performance.
He alleged that certain elements deliberately excluded the petitioner from the promotion process due to vested interests.The counsel submitted that the petitioner’s performance as Secretary for Environmental and Climate Change in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was exemplary.
The counsel added that the petitioner was not provided any information on the reasons for his supersession and had spent five months visiting offices seeking clarification, which was never furnished. He requested the court to examine the petitioner’s ACRs.
The assistant attorney general submitted that the supersession was based on the recommendations of the Central Selection Board. However, the petitioner’s counsel argued that other officers were also similarly superseded through a stereotyped communication, and that both the Islamabad High Court and Lahore High Court had previously declared such actions unlawful.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the court allowed the writ petition and declared the action of superseding the petitioner for promotion to Grade 21 as illegal, directing the authorities to reconsider his case.
