Law:

Section:

Civil service---

----Appointment---Contract employee---Regularization in service---Lady Health Worker---Regularization of service in light of Office Memorandum dated 16-01-2018 issued by the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan---Lady Health Worker, who was initially appointed on contract basis, filed constitutional petition for her appointment on the vacant post of Lady Health Worker (BPS-5) in light of Office Memorandum dated 16-01-2018 ('Memorandum'), which was accepted while passing directions to the Department to conduct her skill test only, if required for relevant post---Department filed civil petition seeking leave to appeal contending that by subsequent Office Corrigendum, a schedule had been announced for conducting screen-test/interview for various posts for the purpose of selecting most eligible candidates by observing the merit policy---Validity---Office Memorandum dated 16-01-2018 ('Memorandum') while settling a mechanism to ensure merit based recruitment in the various department, inter alia, envisaged that all the Administrative departments would give preference to the contingent employees for their appointments against the vacant posts and no screening test for appointment on posts from BPS-01 to BPS-05 would be conducted---Respondent was, admittedly, a contract employee (BPS-05), who was performing her duties to the satisfaction of the competent authority and there was no complaint against her, thus her case fell within the ambit of the Memorandum---Petitioners/Department were legally bound, while implementing the policy having been introduced in the Memorandum, to conduct only skill test of the respondent, if required for the said post---Subsequent office corrigendum, whereby the petitioners / Department announced the schedule for conducting screening test / interview for the posts from BPS-01 to BPS-O5, was in violation of the Memorandum wherein a mechanism to ensure merit based recruitments in various government departments had already been introduced---Act of the petitioners/department was in violation of the principle of natural justice and against the policy of Memorandum whereby the services of low paid poor employees belonging to downtrodden areas were not regularized without disclosing any cogent reason---Chief Court, keeping in view lengthy services of the respondent as lady Health Worker on contract , had rightly accepted her constitutional petition directing the petitioners / department to conduct her skill test only, if required ---Civil petition for grant of appeal filed by the petitioners/Department was declined, in circumstances.

JUDGMENT