Allowance for Revenue Div's employees: SC reprimands DAG for seeking adjournment of case

The Supreme Court Thursday reprimanded Deputy Attorney General Asghar Khan Kundi for seeking adjournment in a case pertaining to 100 percent allowance to the employees of Revenue Division. Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed said that the judges come prepared to listen to the case but the additional general, who was supposed to present his arguments, comes without any preparation.

"The judges don't sit here to give adjournments...who has appointed you a law officer [and] do you deserve to be kept on the job [law officer]," the top judge remarked while addressing the additional attorney general.

A visibly angry Chief Justice questioned the additional attorney general under which law, the employees of Revenue Division are given 100 percent allowance while the employees of Audit and Accounts are paid merely 20 percent.

The top judge continued that salaries of all government employees should be equal in accordance with their grades.

He asked the deputy attorney general to apprise the court of Finance, Economic and Revenue Divisions and what makes a particular Division distinctive from other departments. To this, the deputy attorney general said that the working of Revenue Division is comparatively different than other divisions.

However, the reply from deputy attorney general did not satisfy the CJP who then observed the government should make the salaries equal of all state institutions. Earlier, the DAG prayed the court to grant some time to the government so that it can come prepared. The bench accepted the plea and adjourned the hearing of the case till end of winter vacations.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019