Prolonged Agony Caused by Government Departments in Service Matters

The phrase ‘justice delayed is justice denied’ resonates profoundly within the realm of service matters. This article highlights the prolonged litigation faced by employees as a consequence of non-implementation of the judgments of the Federal Service Tribunal (FST) in Pakistan, necessitating an urgent need for systemic reform.

According to Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel in 2022 SCMR 1765:

Nowhere in the world is delayed justice more evident than in Pakistan where government institutions purposely delay the implementation of FST judgments on the misconceived pretext to file a ‘civil petition for leave to appeal’ (CPLA) in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. This little departure of government departments drags the employee concerned into the pits of years-long unnecessary litigation merely for a simple judgment to be implemented in its true letter and spirit.

According to the ESTA Code (2021 Edition), it is clear as crystal that government departments cannot back out of implementing the judgments of the FST unless the Supreme Court has stayed them. Chapter 10 S.I no. 6.2 of the ESTA Code (2021 Edition) states the following in this regard: