Law: Punjab Emergency Service Act, 2006

Section: 4(1),4(2),5,6–7,9,13,14,15,16,17,21,27

Law: Punjab Emergency Service Leave, Efficiency and Discipline Rules, 2007

Section:

Law: Punjab Civil Servants Act, 1974 

Section: 2(b)

Law: Punjab Civil Servants (Appointment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1974

Section:

Law: Punjab Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 1999)

Section:

Law: Pakistan Penal Code, 1860

Section: 21

Civil servants are those whose appointment and service are regulated under the Civil Servants Act and its framework, or by express statutory declaration, whereas public servants broadly include persons performing public duties or exercising authority under law. Through the 2021 Amendment, the Punjab Emergency Service (Rescue 1122) ceased to be a corporate entity and became an independent administrative department of Government, operating outside the conventional Rules of Business framework, due to the specialized nature of its services. Therefore, employees of the Punjab Emergency Service (Rescue 1122) are governed by their own statutory framework, remain public servants and the Service Tribunal lacks jurisdiction. Summary The Court held that employees of the Punjab Emergency Service (PES) are public servants under the PES Act, 2006 and its rules, not civil servants under the Punjab Civil Servants Act, 1974; the 2021 amendment converting PES from a body corporate to an independent administrative department did not change that status. Because their appointment and terms of service are governed by separate statutory rules (2007 Rules and 2022 Regulations) and not by the Civil Servants Act or its rules, the Punjab Service Tribunal lacks jurisdiction over service matters of PES employees. The Tribunal’s order of 07.06.2023 was set aside and the petition converted into an appeal and allowed. Core points The central issue: whether Emergency Service employees are civil servants (within Service Tribunal jurisdiction) or public servants governed by their own statutory regime. PES was created by the Punjab Emergency Service Act, 2006 with its own disciplinary, appointment and retirement framework (2007 Rules; 2022 Regulations). Section 21 of the PES Act declares members public servants (PPC definition); this was not altered by the 2021 Amendment. The 2021 Amendment changed PES’s legal form from a body corporate to an independent administrative department of the Government, but did not import the Civil Service Framework or make employees civil servants. Legal test: civil servants are those whose appointment and terms are regulated by the Civil Servants Act and…