Law: Constitution of Pakistan 1973

Section: 199, 10-A

Law: Industrial Relations Act, 2012

Section: 99

Law: Code Of Civil Procedure, 1908.

Section:

 Summary

The petitioner, Allied Bank Limited (ABL), challenged the order of the Full Bench of the National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC), which had dismissed its appeal solely on the technical ground that it was signed by only one attorney instead of two. The appeal had been filed against the order of the Single Bench NIRC directing the reinstatement of an employee whose services had been terminated for allegedly submitting fake educational certificates.

The High Court held that the defect regarding the number of signatures was merely a procedural irregularity, not a jurisdictional defect, and could have been cured by allowing the bank to rectify the authorization. The NIRC acted mechanically by dismissing the appeal without granting such an opportunity.

The Court emphasized that procedural technicalities should never defeat substantive justice and that disputes should ordinarily be decided on merits. Since the dismissal deprived the petitioner of a fair hearing guaranteed under Article 10-A of the Constitution, the impugned order was declared legally unsustainable.