ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the Lahore High Court (LHC)’s judgment to incorporate the judicial allowance and special judicial allowance in the pension of the retired employees of the LHC Establishment and retired judges of the subordinate judiciary.
A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, and comprising Justice Aminud Din and Justice Mussarat Hilali, on Tuesday, heard the appeal against calculating pensionary benefits including commutation of Judicial Allowance & Special Judicial Allowance as part of pay.
The bench suspended the LHC impugned judgment and issued notices to the respondents.
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Advocate General (AG) Punjab Khalid Ishaq, in the concise arguments, contended that the Full Bench of the LHC on 18-07-2023 without dilating upon/ determining any legal or constitutional issued the judgment. It failed to appreciate that a Constitutional petition under Article 199 can at best only be filed for the enforcement of a right and not for the creation of one. The LHC handed down the impugned judgment, without dilating upon/ determining any legal or constitutional issue.
The AG Punjab submitted before the bench that the five petitions assailed the same decision even in the writ petitions filed by District and Sessions Judges, and employees of the LHC establishment by relying upon two notifications, 536/ GAZ 2012 and 537/ GAZ 2012.
He submitted that the notifications were issued by the LHC, Lahore, adding the matter did not fall in the constitutional domain of the LHC as it had to be addressed by the legislature and implemented by the executive.
The AG Punjab said that if the LHC order is implemented then the provincial government would face an additional burden of Rs3 billion per year in its annual budget.
He said two allowances; i.e., judicial allowance and the special judicial allowance – are allowed to the judges when they are in service and cannot be added to the pensionary benefit of retired judges.
He submitted that the judicial allowance granted to the district judiciary in Sindh province was directed by the Sindh High Court (SHC) on its administrative side to be included in and to be reckoned for the purposes of calculation of pension. He said that the appeal against the SHC’s order is pending before the Supreme Court and leave has been granted.
Ishaq said that the Finance Department on 28-01-1999 issued notification for the grant of judicial allowance to the incumbents; i.e., various judicial officers w.e.f. 01-01-1999 at various rates. Another notification on 12-08-2008 was issued conferring special judicial allowance in favour of the judicial officers of the District Judiciary in the Punjab equal to three times the initial of the substantive pay scales with effect from 01.07.2008.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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