Supreme Court: Government responsible for administrative delays, not employees

The Supreme Court has firmly established that government employees should not bear the consequences of administrative or bureaucratic inefficiencies. In a significant ruling, the court emphasized the government's 'executive responsibility' to uphold rules and regulations, particularly under the principle of good governance.

The bench, led by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, observed that employees cannot be made scapegoats for delays stemming from systemic issues, oversights, or in-house inefficiencies within departments. This ruling directly addresses the potential for unfair treatment when official processes falter.

This judgment came as the court considered service appeals filed by Sahibzada Hassan Ali and others. They challenged a decision by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Service Tribunal, which had denied seniority to regularized employees. The tribunal's decision was based on a belated official gazette notification, a delay the Supreme Court found unacceptable grounds for penalizing employees.

By setting aside the tribunal's decision, the Supreme Court reinforced the concept of a 'model employer.' This doctrine implies that the state, as an employer, must act fairly and efficiently, ensuring that its own administrative shortcomings do not negatively impact its workforce. The ruling prioritizes fairness and accountability within the government's administrative structures.

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The employees cannot sit on [the] fence due to administrative or bureaucratic delays, inefficiencies, systemic delays, or in-house oversights or inadvertences of the departments as commanded by service laws jurisprudence.