Law: Civil Servants Act, 1973

Section: 6(2)(a)

Law: Occupational Groups and Services (Probation, Training and Seniority) Rules, 1990

Section: 2(iii),3,4,6(1),6(2)(a), 6(2)(b),6(2)(c), 6(3), 7(1), 7(4),7(5),10

(1) Under Rule 6 & 7 of the Occupational Groups of Service (P&T) Rules, 1990, the seniority of the probationers is to be determined after final passing out examination (2) The seniority is not an inherent right but it is regulated according to rules (3) A civil servant cannot claim seniority with an earlier batch if he failed to qualify statutory requirements. Summary The Court held that a probationary officer who does not successfully complete or qualify the Common Training Programme (CTP) with the original batch cannot claim seniority with that batch. The respondent, although initially part of the 44th CTP, did not complete it satisfactorily and was required to repeat the programme with the 45th CTP. Upon successful completion with the 45th batch, his seniority was correctly fixed with that batch. The Supreme Court found that the Office Memorandum dated 22.10.2015 was consistent with the Occupational Groups and Services (Probation, Training and Seniority) Rules, 1990, particularly the rules governing training, examination failure, and seniority. Accordingly, the Federal Service Tribunal’s judgment was set aside and the respondent’s service appeal was dismissed. Core points The respondent joined the Police Service of Pakistan as a probationer and initially attended the 44th Common Training Programme. His performance and conduct during the 44th CTP were found unsatisfactory by the Civil Services Academy. The respondent was directed to repeat the CTP with the 45th batch instead of being removed from service. After successfully completing the 45th CTP, his seniority was assigned with the 45th CTP batch. The respondent challenged the fixation of his seniority and claimed that it should be determined with the 44th CTP batch. The Federal Service Tribunal accepted his appeal, declared the Office Memorandum dated 22.10.2015 ultra vires, and directed that his seniority be determined according to his 44th CTP marks. The Supreme Court held that seniority is not an inherent or fundamental right; it is governed strictly by statutory rules. A probationer who fails to complete or qualify the prescribed training cannot retain seniority with the original…