A civil court has suspended the operation of the Sindh government’s notification on the formation of an inquiry committee to probe the Sindh Workers Welfare Board’s (SWWB) financial matters, including a project regarding the procurement of e-bikes for industrial workers.
Senior Civil Judge (South) Aamir Latif Bhatti gave this interim order on a suit filed by Abdul Basit Bullo and others challenging the labour department’s notification regarding the constitution of an inquiry committee to probe the board’s financial matters.
The court restrained the provincial authorities from taking any coercive, adverse administrative, or disciplinary action against the plaintiffs pursuant to the inquiry until further others.
“However, it is made clear that this ad-interim suspension is confined strictly to the impugned proceedings and shall not prevent, restrict, or preclude the competent statutory authorities of the Workers Welfare Board Sindh from initiating or conducting any lawful internal inquiry or disciplinary proceedings against the Plaintiffs, provided the same are undertaken strictly in accordance with the law and the governing statutory framework,” the judge cleared.
The court issued notices to the defendants to file their objections to the application and adjourned the hearing until June 5 for confirmation or vacation of the interim order.
In their plaint, the plaintiffs stated that they were senior officers holding the statutory posts of directors finance, works and welfare at the SWWB. They said that the board was an independent statutory autonomous body established and regulated under the Sindh Workers Welfare Fund Act, 2014 and the Sindh Workers Welfare Board Employees (Service) Rules, 2021.
They said that on April 7, the defendant, the Labour and Human Resources Department, issued a notification, constituting an external enquiry committee to investigate administrative and financial matters, specifically the procurement of e-bikes, and to fix disciplinary responsibility upon the plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs added that subsequently, separate notices were served upon them to appear and produce extensive internal records within a single day. The counsel for the plaintiffs argued that under Rule 3 read with Schedule-I of the Sindh Government Rules of Business, 1986, the SWWB was not an attached department or subordinate office of the defendant. He stated that the department possessed no direct disciplinary, administrative or supervisory control over the employees of the Board, and any inquiry or disciplinary action must strictly conform to the Services Rules, 2021, which recognizes only the specified statutory authority or authorized officer to initiate such proceedings.
