Law: Punjab Civil Servants Act, 1974 

Section: 2(1)(b)

Law: Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act, 2006

Section: 4

Law: Constitution of Pakistan

Section: 10-A

(a) Punjab Civil Servants Act (VIII of 1974) S. 2(1)(b)---Punjab Civil Servants (Appointment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1974---Initial appointments, non-statutory nature of---Civil Servant later regularized---Appeal filed by such civil servant before Provincial Service Tribunal---Maintainability---Undisputedly, the appellants were initially inducted into government on work-charge basis, however, their services were regularized by the competent authority through a formal order issued pursuant to decisions rendered by the Labour Judicial Forums, which attained finality and were binding upon the department---Following such regularization, the appellants had been serving against duly sanctioned posts within the regular establishment of the Department and they were governed by the Punjab Civil Servants (Appointment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1974---Said factors collectively affirmed their integration into the statutory framework governing civil servants---Regularization of service by a competent authority, whether pursuant to judicial direction or lawful administrative discretion, alters the legal character of employment, conferring upon the employee the status of a civil servant---Once an employee is regularized, he or she ceases to be a contractual, contingent, or ad hoc worker, and becomes entitled to the full breadth of statutory protections available under the Punjab Civil Servants Act, 1974---Appellants satisfied each of the relevant conditions---Significantly, there was no material on record indicating that the regularization of the appellants was ever annulled, withdrawn, or declared void by any competent authority---In the absence of such a determination, a presumption of legality attached to their regularized status---Moreover, the impugned departmental orders were issued by the authorities exercising powers under the Punjab Civil Servants (Appointment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1974, further affirming that the appellants were treated as civil servants in administrative practice---Thus, the appellants, having been lawfully regularized and absorbed against sanctioned posts, had acquired the status of civil servants within the meaning of…